Rock and Roll All Night
by Fairest of Them All
Summary: Alice and Rosalie play a game of punk rock “Bella Barbie” before dragging her to a club to watch Jas and Em's band play at an open mic night. Conveniently, Emmett and Jasper’s band has a new lead singer, and guess who it is… cannon pairs,all human,lemons
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.

Important:

This is my first time writing a fanfic ever, so please be gentle and know that reviews would be extreme encouragement for me. Thanks in advance! Also, I'm making this up as I go along. I don't know how many chapters I'll be doing or even where I'm going with the plot at this point. I'm just gonna go where the story and characters take me.

_Rock and Roll All Night_

BPOV:

I could not believe that I had agreed to allowed Alice and Rose to do this to me. Their makeovers had to be the last legal form a torture in the United States. We have been friends since high school and I still cannot stand when they try to pull this shit on me. I mean, I know that they feel bad that I'm the only single one, but that didn't mean they had to feverishly try to get me a date at every chance they could get! I am perfectly capable of finding my own dates … I just choose not to. I was content being single, something they just couldn't understand, no matter how many times I tried explaining. Both Alice and Rose were taken by two of the most perfect men ever. Perfect for them, that is. Jasper was just what Alice has always dreamed of; a Southern gentleman who was kind and romantic. I'm sure his male model good looks and wavy blond hair didn't hurt either. I'm sure Rosalie has always dreamed of a guy like Emmett, but knowing her, he probably walked right out of one her many sex dreams. Definitely not my type, but undeniably attractive. He was tall, had a ripped body, and gorgeous dark curly hair.

I love my two best friends and I'm so glad they both have amazing men at their sides, but right now I was extremely annoyed with them. Currently, they were holding me hostage and dragging me out to a club "for my own good" as they had put it. They should have expected my eye roll in response to that comment. Of course, this entails me being subjected to their wardrobe, hair and makeup choices. I was sitting on Alice's bed scowling as I tried to come up with a way to flee her apartment.

"Absolutely not!" I screamed as I saw what Rose had pulled out of Alice's vast closet for me to wear. My thoughts had been pulled away from my plan of escape by the small scraps of black leather and torn fabric laid out in front of me.

"You don't get a say in this, Bella," Rose snapped at me.

"And why not? I'm gonna be the one looking like an idiot if you make me wear that!" I snapped back at her. As the words left my mouth, I saw Alice's eyes appear to turn black with rage as she clenched her tiny hands into fists. Shit.

"How dare you imply that someone wearing my clothes would look like an idiot, Isabella Swan!? We're trying to make you look SEXY, not stupid! So you're just gonna sit there and shut the hell up until we're done getting you ready." Alice was nearly out of breath when she finished. All I could do was give a small nod. I knew better than to go against Alice when she got like this.

At the time, I hadn't put much thought into agreeing to go with them to see Emmett and Jasper's band play at an open mic night. I was just excited because I was still new getting used to going out to clubs legally now that we were all 21. Also, the combination of calm Jasper plucking at the bass and huge Emmett wailing away on the drums was quite a sight to behold. We watch them play all the time, so this was no big deal, right? Wrong. I should have known that they had an ulterior motive to this night out! The guys had recently been having issues with their most recent lead singer and kicked him out of the band. This show must mean that they've found a new lead to replace him. Well, that's just great. Once I came to this realization, it became clear to me that Alice and Rosalie wanted me to meet the newest addition. I mentally scoffed at the idea. For the most part, the other guys who have been in Emmett and Jasper's band have been total losers. As if I hadn't met my fair share of those, already! Although I didn't have a "type" of guy I was interested in, there was definitely a trend in the guys that pursued me: the losers. So as I said before, I was capable of finding my own dates, but my options were far from ideal. Maybe my standards were too high, but I didn't care, I refused to settle.

I knew there was no chance of me escaping from Alice and Rosalie's clutches tonight. I had no choice but to go with them, but I was not going to pretend to be happy about it. I looked down at myself and I was already fully dressed. Correction: I was as fully dressed as was possible in the outfit they put me in. They had taken advantage of the time I spent thinking and dressed me in the items they picked out. I now wore a small, tight, black scrap of leather slung low in my hips and black a black Rolling Stones tee that looked like it had been cut up, bleached and mangled. The shirt, and I use that term very loosely, barely covered the black and red bra with skulls (complete with matching thong) they had forced me into. To complete the look, I was wearing studded black leather high-heeled booties. They were trying to kill me. As I finished taking in my outfit, I looked up at both of them with horror, and surely a blush, on my face.

"I…. I…I look…" I wanted to scream how ridiculous I looked, but I was so angry that I couldn't get the words out.

"You look HOTT!" Alice and Rosalie yelled in unison, dragging me into the bathroom to begin on my hair and makeup.

"I can't go out in public looking like this!" I said as I tried to stop and turn around, not an easy feat for me in four inch heels. I could feel the angry tears welling up in my eyes. I needed to get away and out of these clothes fast. This was not me! Practically my entire stomach was exposed and my ass was barely covered. Not to mention the fact that I could barely walk safely without the help of these four inch death traps. Despite my best efforts, Alice and Rosalie did not let go of me. Instead, they continued our journey to the bathroom and plopped me down on top of the toilet lid and both kneeled in front of me.

"Bella? Bella, what's wrong?" Alice asked me. When I didn't respond to her question, Rosalie started speaking.

"Listen Bella, I know this isn't exactly your style…" she began before I cut her off.

"Not EXACTLY my style? I'm going to make a fool out of myself! There is no way in hell I'll be able to walk in these things and God only knows which one of my bits and pieces is gonna fall out if I wear this!" I screamed, gesturing towards my outfit.

"Cut it out! You know damn well that we would never let anything bad happen to you! We both understand that this is out of your comfort zone, but you need to trust us. Okay?" Alice went from ordering to questioning in one breath. I just nodded my head in response. I knew that everything she said was true, but I was still freaked out. "Good. Now, you need to calm down so I can put your makeup on and Rose can start on your hair." I conceded, closing my eyes to allow Alice and Rosalie to work their magic. This was going to be a really long night…


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

BPOV:

It had taken just short of an eternity for Alice and Rosalie to finish with my hair and makeup. Once they were done I walked over to the full length mirror to check myself out while they got themselves ready. They kept assuring my how great I looked and once I got a look at myself, I had to agree with them. I usually don't wear very much makeup, but Alice had done a phenomenal job. My skin was absolutely glowing, with very little foundation or anything. It's not like I needed any cosmetic blush, I had covered on my own. My eyes were smoky with black and metallic dark gray and long, full lashes. My lips were stained with a sheer wine color and they looked perfectly pouty. I had to give it to her, that girl knew her stuff! And Rose did an amazing job with my hair. My long brown hair was pretty to begin with, but now it was fabulous. It was full with volume and slightly teased; it definitely went with the rock and roll theme they had been trying for.

After taking a look at their finished product, I had to admit, I was getting excited to go out tonight. I still had my doubts, though. Even if I looked as great as they said I did, could I pull this outfit off in front of strangers? I tried putting that thought to the back of my mind for now and let the excitement wash through me. I was sure once I got some liquid courage in me I would be fine. I looked up to see Alice and Rosalie walk back in the room, dressed and all made up.

"Ready?" I asked them.

"Yep," Rose replied, popping the p at the end.

"Let's go!" Alice yelled energetically, grabbing one of Rosalie's hands and one of mine.

I was right; it would definitely be a long night. It was already 8:30 and the boys were supposed to go on stage at 9. We would make it to the club with plenty of time to spare. Alice and Rose always liked to wish the boys good luck before a performance and tonight was no exception. They were very patient with me as I carefully made my way out of Alice's apartment and to the elevator. I was painfully aware that one false move and my face would be getting acquainted to the floor. Once we got out of the elevator they both linked their arms through mine to steady me as we walked outside and closer to the street to hail a cab. I was very thankful to be wearing a long coat that covered me almost to my knees. Nobody on the street needed to see what I was wearing underneath it. I tried not to think about the fact that I would have to take it off again once we reached the club. I had become more comfortable with the outfit Alice and Rose had put me in, but I still felt very exposed.

Our cab ride passed uneventfully, with Alice practically bouncing with excitement and Rosalie anxiously shifting around in her seat. I was stuck in between them, riding bitch, as usual. It didn't take long at all for us to reach the club. We paid the cab driver and they both helped me out of the cab. Rose had the front, half pulling me while trying to make sure no one got a good look up my skirt. Alice behind me, making sure the cab driver didn't see anything didn't catch a glimpse of anything he wasn't supposed to. I'm sure it was really something to see, but I was more concerned with safely making it inside. The club was a small place, so there weren't any lines to wait in. Not that I ever had to wait in any lines when Alice and Rose were with me. The two of them got anything they wanted. Most people were taken aback by how beautiful they were. It had been that way ever since high school and I was used to it by now. Rosalie was tall, blonde and fierce. Alice was her complete opposite: short, black hair, and positively charming. Then there was me, boring Bella. I was average. Average looks, average height, and average brown hair. But I was fine with blending in, I really was.

We found Jasper and Emmett easily once we walked inside the club. They were right next to the stage, setting up some of their equipment. I was relieved to see that it was just them and their acquaintance Mike, a guy that sometimes plays guitar with them. I can't say he's a friend because he's just so damn irritating. In fact, he's one of my many losers. He kept asking me out and wouldn't take a hint when I told him I wasn't interested. It took Jasper and Emmett threatening to kick him out of the band for him to leave me alone. I felt a little bad that it had to come to that, but the guys was creeping me out! I was taking comfort in the fact that at least I could put off meeting the new lead singer for a bit longer. That was, of course, until I realized that everyone around me had taken their coat off and were looking at me expectantly.

"Bella, Jasper asked if you wanted him to take you coat." Alice prompted me. Shit! I must have been so distracted by my inner monologue that I didn't hear him.

"Sorry, Jasper. Thanks." I said with a blush, embarrassed at standing there like an idiot. As I took off my coat to hand it to him, a whole new wave of embarrassment hit me as I remembered what I was wearing. "I…um… I need… a drink." I mumbled as I turned to flee. I needed that liquid courage, and fast!

I would have made my way over to the bar a lot faster had it not been for those stupid, fabulous looking heels. I had to walk more carefully than normal if I intended to make it over to the bar at all. It didn't help my concentration on walking when I realized that I was getting looks from the people around me. I guess I looked more ridiculous that I thought. I knew I couldn't pull this outfit off in public! I was mentally cursing Alice and Rose when I finally made it to the bar. I looked up at the bartender with an appreciative smile.

"Can I get a Malibu and Coke, please?" I asked.

"Sure thing," the bartender replied, returning my smile. I sat down on a stool to wait and let out a sigh, relieved to be off of my feet. Everyone else had already been helped, so the bartender got right to fixing my drink. It was a good thing, too, because I needed my drink ASAP. I would have been nervous at the thought of my friends trying to set me up regardless of what I had to wear, but this outfit was not helping my nerves. He would probably think I'm some sort of cheap, skanky groupie from the way I was dressed… My thoughts were interrupted by the bartender placing my drink in front of me. I put my money down to pay and quickly drained the glass, asking for another one. I drank the second one a little slower as I calmed down a little.

I just had to convince myself that I could look confident despite the fact that my insides were crawling with all the anxiety I was feeling. The alcohol was helping a little. I ordered another drink to bring over to the table we would be sitting at during the show.

I made my way back to Alice and Rose, a little less slowly than I had on the way to the bar. My two drinks had taken off the edge and I was pretty sure I could make it back to the girls without incident. I was halfway to them when some drunken bimbo knocks into me, knocking my drink from my hand and me off balance. I braced myself for the inevitable impact with the floor, but instead I was surprised to hit something hard, yet soft at the same time. A couch maybe? No, there are no couches in this part of the club… I was broken away from my train of thought by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Wonderful! So I must have fallen onto someone.

"Shit! I am so sor…" I couldn't finish my apology because when I turned my head I came face to face with the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, smiling down at me in his arms. He had short, brown hair with a hint of bronze, sea green eyes that I could probably swim in, and just a hint of stubble across his perfect jaw. My breath caught in my throat and I inhaled quickly to stifle a gasp. As I did that I caught a whiff of his scent. It wasn't exactly cologne, but it was fresh and absolutely mouthwatering. I was mesmerized. It took me longer than it should have to realize that I was still leaning most of my weight on him and staring, no less. Great, he probably thought I had some sort of mental deficiency now! Why was he still smiling? Oh my God! My clothes must be in complete disarray from my little tumble! I needed to get out of there NOW.

"Sorry!" I finished as I ran off as quickly as I could to the table where Alice and Rose were. They were leaned in towards each other, whispering conspiratorially, but broke apart when they noticed me approaching.

"Alright, cut the shit, ladies! I know what you two are up to." I hissed at them.

"And what would that be?" Rose asked me innocently as Alice gave her best puppy dog eyes… they were pretty good, but I wouldn't allow myself to get sidetracked. I'd just been humiliated in front of the hottest guy I have ever laid eyes on because of their insistence that I wear this getup!

"Don't! Both of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You dressed me up to parade me around in front of Jasper and Emmett's new lead singer. So let's get this over with now, so I can go home. Where is he? Where is my newest loser?" My voice had gotten louder the more exasperated I became. I took a breath and noticed that Alice and Rose were looking over my head, rather than at me. Alice even had the nerve to start giggling! Just as I opened my mouth and was about to let her have it, I heard someone clear their throat. That sound was oddly familiar…

Shit!

I turned around and looked up to see those same sea green eyes. Shit. Shit. SHIT!

"I believe that loser would be me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and roll all night_

EPOV:

I was more than just a little nervous to be performing tonight. I'm still new to performing in public. Hell, I've never even been in a band before! It started last month when I saw some flyers saying that a local band, Blood Brothers, was holding auditions for a lead singer. I had brought the flyer home with me to the apartment I shared with my sister, Tanya. She was the one who insisted that I audition. According to her, it was totally unfair that I withheld my singing voice from the public. So I agreed to go to the audition. At the very least, she would quit bugging me about it.

The day of the audition finally came around and I had prepared a short recording of myself singing with my computer's microphone. Really impressive, I know, but I what else was I supposed to do? I got to the audition ten minutes early and thought about how I was gonna play this. I usually didn't tell anyone about how I was classically trained on the piano; I really don't think my pride could take being laughed at in my face. But I figured the more musical experience I told them I had, the better my chances were. So there I stood, bracing myself for them to demand me to relinquish my Man Card, but to my surprise they didn't even laugh. They just sat there with thoughtful looks on their faces. It had killed me that they hadn't said anything to me after I had played my demo tape and shared my training.

"_So, um…. what…what do you guys think?" I asked nervously, rubbing the back on my neck. To my great surprise, Emmett's face broke out into a huge, shit-eating grin, soon joined by Jasper's._

"_Dude, why do you look so embarrassed?" Jasper asked. "There's no reason to be."For some strange reason, just hearing him say that put me at ease and I chuckled, shaking my head._

"_I don't know… I just never talk about my training because…well, I've just always thought that people would think I was a sissy, or something." I said with a slight shrug of my shoulders._

"_Are you kidding me, bro!?" Emmett guffawed. "I think that little tidbit would have all the ladies dropping their panties on the spot!"_

"_Seriously!?" I'm sure my eyes were bugging out of my head at this point as I asked. They just nodded their heads in agreement._

I was psyched when Jasper and Emmett told me they wanted me to be in the band. They were both laid back and I could see us getting along really well. We had practiced together 3 times a week in preparation for our first show. Jasper said they knew of a little club close to their apartment that would be perfect for our first public performance.

We had so much fun together that after the first week of practice that I ended up hanging out at their apartment most days regardless of whether we had practice or not. Jasper and Emmett told me more about themselves, including a lot about their respective girlfriends, Alice and Rosalie. I could tell from the reverent way they spoke of their girls that they had it bad. It didn't take long for them to warn me that the girls had a single friend, Bella, that they would probably try setting me up with. They didn't say much about her other than that she was pretty, so I just shrugged it off. Lots of girls were pretty, there just weren't very many who could think outside of the herd mentality. Whatever… I made two pretty awesome friends in the last month; I couldn't expect to find a girl, too.

Our time together passed quickly and before I knew it, the night of our performance had arrived. I wasn't used to singing in front of anyone other than my friends and family, so I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that as Emmett drove us to the club I grew more anxious by the second. I could do this, right? There was no actual difference between playing for my friends and playing for strangers. Jasper kept trying to reassure me that tonight was gonna go off without a hitch, but I still had my doubts. Once we got to the club, the guys expertly navigated the small crowd, dragging me along behind them until we reached the side of the stage.

"Hey, Edward, why don't you go get yourself a drink? You look like you could use one. Me and Em are just gonna get this stuff set up." Jasper offered. I wasn't really one to drink on the job, but I knew I needed to calm down before going on stage.

"Are you sure?" I knew I needed a drink, but I didn't want to just walk away without helping them.

"Yeah, we got this. Go chill out." Emmett encouraged as he lightly shoved me in the general direction of the bar. "Oh, and just a heads up… the girls brought Bella tonight." He added with a wink. Wonderful! Now not only did I have to worry about performing, but now I was required to occupy the short attention span of some clueless girl as well.

I sulked my way over to the bar, thinking about what was in store for this evening. I wasn't really nervous about performing so much as I just didn't like not knowing what to expect when I was on stage. It irked me to feel like I wasn't in control of the situation.

I had almost reached my destination, so I started scanning along the bar for the bartender to give my order. I had just spotted the bartender and was about to walk over to them when my eye caught a flash of the most beautiful color brown. Usually there's nothing special about brown hair, but I was suddenly hypnotized by this girl's mahogany locks. Her hair was long and luscious, flowing down her back, but it had this sexy messy quality to it. My eyes slowly began taking in the form below that head of hair as the figure began to rise from her stool and turn. And then I noticed what she was wearing. At this point I had stopped dead in my tracks. Her hair moved as the girl slowly rose, allowing me a glance at the creamy white skin exposed by her very small, torn shirt.

My eyes hungrily swept down to her exposed lower back, following the shape of her hips. Moving lower still, I noticed her tiny skirt. Leather. _Fuck!_ I forced my eyes to detach themselves from her perfect little ass down her smooth legs. This girl was standing there in THAT outfit wearing studded black heels that just screamed "fuck me!" I groaned as I felt my pants start to fit a little tighter. It was like she had walked straight out of my wet dreams. _Now is not the time!_ We were scheduled to perform in less than 10 minutes and I could not go onstage on stage like this.

I really thought my situation couldn't any _harder_, but then she turned around completely and was facing me. I sincerely had to put an effort into not coming right then and there, she was that gorgeous. Her soft face was the same creamy color of white that I had seen on her back only moments before. I could tell from where I stood that she wasn't wearing very much makeup, and she shouldn't. Her brown eyes had been made up to be dark and smoky. _So_ sexy. My eyes were drawn to her lips; they were luscious and positively begging for attention.

I was snapped out of my fantasies involving those very lips when she started to walk… towards me! _Shit_. Did she catch me blatantly fucking her with my eyes and was now coming over to slap me? No, play it cool. She wasn't even looking at me! She seemed determined to get somewhere across the room and I continued watching her as she walked. She didn't even seem to notice the drunken skank that was barreling out of control right in her direction. I felt my feet carrying me towards her. I wasn't sure what I could do, but I knew that I couldn't just stand by idly and allow her to be mowed down. I continued walking until I came to a stop by her side… just in case.

At least I didn't have to put much time into justifying my strange need to protect her because only a few seconds later, the skank knocked into her. The drink she was holding spilled onto the floor and she began to fall backwards. My arms caught her and pulled her safely into my chest before she had a chance to hit the floor. _This was even better than I could have hoped for!_ Her beautiful hair that had caught my attention blew a wave of strawberries at my face as her head hit my chest. _Amazing._ I sadly realized that I couldn't just stand there holding her, so I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Shit! I am so sor…" She began, but ended abruptly as she turned to face me. I wondered what had made her stop her apology, but I was content to still have her in my arms. I couldn't help the smirk that crawled itself across my face. A few moments passed and she just stayed there, looking up at me. _I should say something…_ but words evaded me. She was _so_ beautiful, even with her hair all messed now and her tiny clothes scrunched up from our almost collision. I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I knew it would be too much. I didn't even know her!

But I wanted to.

Something seemed to bring her back to her senses and she slowly began to move in my arms.

"Sorry!" She yelled, running as fast as her heels would take her. She should have been more careful; she looked extremely sexy in those things, but stable… not so much. I stood in shock for a few seconds as I watched her flee, my determination growing inside of me. Forget that Bella chick everyone was trying to set me up with, I needed to have _this_ girl.

With that decided, I headed in the direction I watched her run off in. It didn't take me very long to spot that sexy little body in the crowd. She was standing at a table with two other beautiful women. Surprisingly, her arms were gesturing fiercely at the two women and she appeared to be involved in some kind of argument. Her angry face was stunning, but that didn't surprise me. I continued walking until I was standing right behind her, nodding my head in acknowledgement at them two women I took to be her friends. I was now close enough to hear what she was yelling about. Her voice was beautiful, of course.

"Don't! Both of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You dressed me up to parade me around in front of Jasper and Emmett's new lead singer." _Whoa._ How did she know Jasper and Emmett? I guess that would make the other two Alice and Rosalie… and that would make her…wait, WHAT!? _This_ is Bella!? Jasper and Emmett had said she was pretty. _PRETTY!_ As is that word could describe the goddess standing before me. I almost laughed out loud, but I could tell that she wasn't done yelling yet. "So let's get this over with now, so I can go home. Where is he? Where is my newest loser?" She demanded. I quickly realized that she was talking about _me!_ The short girl giggled. I honestly had no idea what I should say or do, so I just cleared my throat again. _Brilliant, now she's gonna think you're a fucktard, you asshole!_

"I believe that loser would be me." I really hoped that my voice didn't sound as shaky as I felt in that moment. By now I had completely forgotten about the drink I had meant to get. However, I could probably have used a cold shower and a brain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and roll all night_

BPOV:

I could not believe this was happening right now. How many times was I going to embarrass myself in front of this beautiful specimen of a man? And more importantly, how could he possibly think that _he_ was the loser I was referring to. As I stared up at him like an idiot, the word loser was the furthest thing from my mind. Everything was surprisingly quiet despite Alice's continued giggles. I did not find anything funny about this situation. I realized that everything was looking at me expectantly, like they were waiting for me to talk. _Say something, you idiot!_

"What?" I mumbled. Alright, so it was exactly an articulate sentence, but I was hoping it would give me time to think of something remotely intelligent to say.

"I'm Jasper and Emmett's new lead singer, Edward," he said, extending his hand to me.

"Bella," I introduced myself, cautiously taking his hand. I clearly remembered how good it felt to have him holding me only a couple of minutes ago. I felt a familiar flash of heat across my face at the thought of him touching me, only to have it magnified when our skin touched again.

"Beautiful," he said with a warm smile as he continued shaking my hand.

"Excuse me?" I'm sure my shock was written all over my face.

"Your name… that's what it means."

"Oh." Something about this man was rendering me unable to form a sentence longer than two words. _What is wrong with me!?_ Sure, he's incredibly good looking… but I'm a highly intelligent, independent woman! Or at least that's what I like to think.

"It suits you." Did he really just tell me I was beautiful? Has he looked at himself lately? I could feel my blush renewing itself. _Ugh!_ I can't believe I'm letting myself get so flustered. _Relax. It was just a polite compliment!_ I scolded myself.

"Um… thanks?" I replied, unsure of how else to answer. He chuckled lightly at my awkward response. I gently pulled my hand away, hoping that the loss of contact would allow me to form coherent thoughts. I took a breath and tried again. "Listen, about before… I really am sorry… about bumping into you… oh, and um, calling you a loser…" I trailed off, all the while never taking my eyes off of my hands, which were wringing each other in front of me.

"You know, you do an awful lot of apologizing," he said teasingly.

"Yeah, I guess I do…" I replied softly. "Sorry," I added before I could stop myself. With that he let out a full blown laugh and I looked up from my hands. It was such a care-free sound that I felt myself begin to relax and laugh along with him. The skin around the outer edges of his gorgeous green eyes crinkled slightly… _so cute_.

"Don't worry about it," he said, leaning in towards me. "Besides, I saw the whole thing and it wasn't your fault. That drunken girl was totally gunning for you," he whispered conspiratorially and… _did he just wink? _At_ me?_ "And regarding me being a loser… I guess that's yet to be seen." I couldn't even imagine why he was still talking to me and then I realized that Jasper and Emmett much have told him what a charity case I was. Alice and Rosalie's friend who couldn't get her own dates. _How pathetic_. That thought snapped me out of whatever spell his laughter and his eyes had me under.

"Okay, well… break a leg." I said, hoping that the finality in my voice would let him know that he was off the hook; I was dismissing him. I tried not to put too much emphasis on that last part, but I was pretty pissed. I refused to talk with someone who was only doing so because they felt obligated.

"Thanks. Um… enjoy the show." He replied, hesitantly turning to walk off towards the stage. _That's funny_, I thought, _he almost looked hurt_… _Whatever, it's not like he was genuinely interested_, I reminded myself. But it couldn't hurt to stay and watch, right? I really do enjoy watching Jasper and Emmett play and I couldn't deny that this Edward had piqued my interest. I found myself wondering what he sounded like when he was singing. I continued imagining what he would look like up on stage, totally lost in the performance… _Okay, so maybe my thoughts were becoming not so innocent, but he said to enjoy the show, didn't he?_ Regardless of the intentions behind my thoughts, the guys brought me out of my reverie when they began to move their equipment onto the small stage.

I remembered my reasons for being here and looked around me to find Alice and Rosalie. They had not so subtly left me alone while I was speaking with Edward. I searched around me until I saw my two best friends, the tall blonde Rosalie and tiny black-haired Alice, both of whom I found myself annoyed with again. They had been standing over by the bar, watching me and they started walking back when they noticed I was standing alone. I could feel the anger boiling up inside me. I was pissed about this outfit, I was pissed that they were trying to set me up again, and I was uber pissed that Edward was probably just another loser. Even if I had already decided to stay and watch the performance, I was not going to pretend to be happy about this situation. I was really going to lay into them once they sauntered back to our table, but before any words could come out of my open mouth, there was a tapping on the mic. My eyes were instantly drawn to the stage.

"Okay, thanks for coming out everybody. We're gonna be performing a cover of the Matchbox 20 song, 'Disease.' Yeah, so… enjoy." Edward finished, appearing kind of uncomfortable. Edward was standing to the front of the stage looking sinful in strategically destroyed jeans, a gray v-neck t-shirt and plaid zip up. I saw his chest muscles through his shirt as he removed his gray leather jacket. I gasped a little. _Okay, I needed to stop this_. _Obviously I found Edward attractive, but he just felt bad for me, so that fact was of no importance_, I rationalized. But I knew I was lost the second I heard the opening guitar. This was one of my favorite songs and to tell the truth, I had always thought Rob Thomas's voice was extremely sexy. As if I needed anymore reasons to swoon, Edward started singing in the sexiest voice I have ever heard. He was blowing my Rob Thomas fantasy out of the water as he worked the stage.

_I got a disease  
Deep inside me  
Makes me feel uneasy baby  
I can't live without you  
Tell me, what I am supposed to do about it?  
Keep your distance from it  
Don't pay no attention to me  
I got a disease  
_

Oh. My. God. This man was seriously sex on legs. I knew that I was in deep shit when he looked directly at me and started crooning.

_Feels like you're making a mess  
You're hell on wheels in a black dress  
You drove me to the fire  
And left me there to burn  
_

I seriously needed to get a hold of myself. My breathing was getting shallower.

_  
I think that I'm sick  
But leave me be while my world is coming down on me  
You taste like honey, honey  
Tell me can I be your honey  
_

I needed to be closer to him. There was a smoldering look in his eyes that made me start to forget about all the reasons why I knew he didn't want me. Why was he doing this to me? Being under the full force of his stare was enough to make me weak in the knees.

_Be be strong  
Keep telling myself it that won't take long till  
I'm free of my disease_

I couldn't keep my eyes off of him as he moved along to the beat of the music. I was pretty sure at this point that my mouth was still hanging open. I had opened it to yell at the girls, but my awe of Edward quickly overcame that. I was standing there just staring when the song finally came to a close.

"Bella, guess what!? We're going dancing tonight!" Alice sang, successfully interrupting my gawking by shocking me back into reality. Apparently, they had more humiliation in store for me tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and roll all night_

EPOV:

"What?" She asked, clearly shocked by my appearance beside her. Her warm, brown eyes were gorgeous even with the "deer in the headlights" look she wore.

"I'm Jasper and Emmett's new lead singer, Edward," I clarified as I extended my hand to her. I wanted so much more contact than that, but surely anything else would make her uncomfortable.

"Bella," she said, introducing herself. She hesitantly placed her hand in mine. Instantly I felt a current connect us through our hands. The feeling of her skin on mine was not something I could put into words.

"Beautiful," I said as I smiled. I couldn't even stop the words as they passed through my lips. I was truly in awe of her beauty… and her body. _No!_ It was definitely her beauty.

"Excuse me?" _Shit! I've been talking to her for less than a minute and I've already scared her off!! Think of something!!!_

"Your name… that's what it means." _Smooth, Edward._

"Oh." She seemed… relieved?

"It suits you." _Fuck! Do I not have control over what comes out of my mouth anymore!?_

"Um… thanks?" She replied. I couldn't help but laugh about how uncertain she was of how to react to my compliment. _Surely people reminded her how beautiful she was all the time… how could they not?_ I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a moment when I saw the most gorgeous blush caress her cheeks. "Listen, about before… I really am sorry… about bumping into you… oh, and um, calling you a loser…" she trailed off, looking down at her hands. _Why wouldn't she look at me? I needed to see her face!_

"You know, you do an awful lot of apologizing," I teased, hoping that she would look up at me if I lightened the mood a bit. "Yeah, I guess I do… sorry." I laughed at her comment and I was overjoyed when she finally looked back at my face.

"Don't worry about it," I said, leaning in. I wanted to be closer to her. I couldn't help myself from gravitating towards her. "Besides, I saw the whole thing and it wasn't your fault. That drunken girl was totally gunning for you," I whispered and winked at her. _What the hell am I doing!?_ _Okay, stay calm, Edward… just change the subject._ "And regarding me being a loser… I guess that's yet to be seen." _Agh, that didn't seem to help at all! _She looked contemplative now, almost sad. _What did I say that upset her?_ I thought she was just starting to warm up to me, but I could have been wrong.

"Okay, well… break a leg," she said brusquely. She was blowing me off. _Could I really blame her, though?_ I had probably sounded and acted like an idiot.

"Thanks. Um… enjoy the show." I told her as I slowly turned around. I could feel my face falling in disappointment. I really didn't want her to see that. Then she'd think I was a pathetic idiot. _Who was I kidding? I am pathetic!_ After knowing her for less than five minutes I would gladly follow her around like a lost puppy if she'd let me.

Absolutely.

Fucking.

_Pathetic!_

But now it was time to get back to the task on hand. I had to help the guys to finish setting up and then we were on. I knew my way around instruments pretty well, so it didn't take very much of my concentration to help with last minute adjustments. Unfortunately, that gave my mind time to wonder to thoughts of Bella. Her beautiful face. What she was wearing tonight. The way her hair reflected the lighting. Her musical laugh. How her face had fallen… _Fuck! What did I do wrong?_ Whatever it was, I knew that I had to make it right. I would keep trying to make it up to her. Starting now.

I walked up to the microphone knowing what had to be done. My resolve was strong, but I was still nervous about what I was about to do.

"Okay, thanks for coming out everybody. We're gonna be performing a cover of the Matchbox 20 song, 'Disease.' Yeah, so… enjoy." _Bella, please enjoy! _This performance was for her. I was determined to right whatever wrong I had done to her. The least I could do was make a small gesture.

_I got a disease  
Deep inside me  
Makes me feel uneasy baby  
I can't live without you  
Tell me, what I am supposed to do about it?  
Keep your distance from it  
Don't pay no attention to me  
I got a disease  
_

I looked directly at her, staring into her beautiful brown eyes. _Girls liked to be sang to, right?_ She needed to know that she was all that mattered right now. It wasn't about the lyrics. It was about the performance, and it was _all_ for _her_.

_Feels like you're making a mess  
You're hell on wheels in a black dress  
You drove me to the fire  
And left me there to burn  
_

God, did she look sinful.

_  
I think that I'm sick  
But leave me be while my world is coming down on me  
You taste like honey, honey  
Tell me can I be your honey  
_

God, how I wanted to taste her!

I kept my eyes locked on Bella the entire performance. It was like she was the only thing keeping my feet attached to the Earth. Nothing else mattered right now.

_Be be strong  
Keep telling myself it that won't take long till  
I'm free of my disease_

My breathing was rough and labored by the end of the song. I stood there panting and staring at Bella with unimaginable intensity until she was snapped out of our eye contact by her friend. That little one was beginning to irritate me… It was probably a good thing that Jasper tapped on my shoulder before I could mentally harm Bella's friend any further.

"Hey man, great job. If it's okay with you, why don't we cut out early? Alice and Rose look like they're about to burst out there. And Bella certainly looks… intrigued by our performance." It certainly didn't take Jasper more than a mention of Bella, but he continued. "Emmett and I thought that a dance club might be a good place to continue the evening with our lovely ladies," he added with a smirk. I rushed back to the mic to inform the crowd that our performance was going to be cut short. I was so excited about the possibilities tonight held that I couldn't stop myself from shooting Bella a quick smile. Much to my surprise and pleasure, she returned it with a spectacular smile of her own.

I had high hopes for this evening, and all of them included Bella.

**Author's note:**

**Sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to update soon. Next chapter will probably be at the dance club from EPOV. Once again, PLEASE review! I love hearing from people :]]**

**- Fairest of Them All**


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and roll all night_

"_Bella, guess what!? We're going dancing tonight!" Alice sang, successfully interrupting my gawking by shocking me back into reality. Apparently, they had more humiliation in store for me tonight._

BPOV:

"Oh really?" I asked innocently. "With whom?" As if I didn't already know what she and Rosalie were up to! I really should have seen this coming earlier, though. There was no reason to be dressed like this for an open mic night. Those two were absolutely shameless and I should be absolutely furious!

But I'm not. Because I'm stupid…and because Edward is _extremely_ sexy.

"Oh, just the boys…" Alice replied, intentionally being vague.

"By boys, I assume you mean Jasper and Emmett?" I questioned.

"Naturally… and I think Mike and Edward will be joining us as well." Alice's voice got gradually lower with each word she spoke, obviously worrying about how I would react to the addition of Mike and Edward to our plans. Normally, I would have protested vehemently about Mike being included, but I was contented by the prospect of spending more time with Edward.

Once again I found myself being stared at expectantly while I was lost in thought. They were waiting for my reaction. Duh!

"Oh, um… ok. When are we leaving?"

"Right after the guys clear out their stuff," Rosalie said. "They're having a friend bring their equipment back to their apartment, so they'll be leaving with us."

"K, sounds good!" I responded enthusiastically. Alice and Rosalie looked at me like I had just told them I was the Queen of England. My response had caught them completely off guard. They probably thought they were going to have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming. We sat down on the tall bar stools at our table and waited for the guys. They quickly announced to the crowd that their performance was going to be cut short tonight.

Words cannot even describe how my body reacted to the breath-taking smile Edward sent my way. We sat in comfortable silence as we waited. I was pretty sure that I had an idiot smile plastered across my face while Alice and Rosalie just sat there and watched me with knowing looks on their faces.

I swear, it is extremely annoying to have two best friends who know everything…

Once again I found myself in a cab with Alice and Rosalie, but this time I was also fidgeting around in anticipation. After watching Edward move on stage earlier, I couldn't wait to see his body when he was dancing in a club. There was no way for me to stop my mind from straying to the thought of him covered in a light layer of sweat with his body pressed firmly against mine. I was really starting to overindulge in my little fantasies. This really needed to stop.

_Edward doesn't want me! He is just being nice_.

I repeated my new mantra to myself during the cab ride to the club we were going to. Unfortunately my efforts were for naught because my heart soared when I saw the guys waiting outside the club for us. _Oh my God!_ Edward looked even more delicious when stripped of his leather jacket and plaid zip-up. I felt a chill run down my spine and I couldn't help but shiver. I quickly had to disrupt myself from any line of thought that included Edward stripping.

_Focus, Bella! Edward doesn't want you, he is just being nice. He doesn't want you, he's just being nice. Doesn't want you, just being nice._

"Shall we, ladies?" I inquired as we, okay… _they_, gracefully climbed out of the cab. They nodded and I put on my best game face as we strutted up to the guys. Alice instantly sought out Jasper and Rose did the same with Emmett as they headed into the club. I was left standing there awkwardly with Edward and Mike just inside the entrance, not knowing what to say.

My eyes instantly looked to my feet out of habit. In a matter of seconds I felt a gentle pressure below my chin guiding my face back up. When I lifted my eyes I saw Edward's handsome face looking back at me. His green eyes were so kind and inviting that I just stood there for a few moments looking into them. I felt completely at ease.

That is, of course until I felt a hand pressing against the bare skin on the small of my back. I instantly knew it wasn't Edward touching me. There was no electric tingling sensation to accompany this touch. I automatically flinched away, knowing that the only other person it could be was Mike. Being that I was situated between Mike and Edward, my movement had settled me right into Edward's side. I looked up at him to gage his reaction, but I was surprised to find that he wasn't looking at me.

Edward had a murderous look on his face that was directed right at Mike. Right away the contact between Mike's hand and my back relented. I looked up at Edward once again to find that he was looking back at me this time. He looked a little worried and I smiled to reassure him and show my appreciation. His answering smile was dazzling and as a result I leaned further into him.

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett were nowhere to be seen as we walked further into the club. Conveniently, there was an unoccupied, circular booth nearby that we eagerly snatched. I slid in after Edward and, much to my discomfort, Mike slid in right after me. _This guy was truly unable to take a hint._ I inched closer to Edward so that are legs were nearly touching.

He seemed to welcome my closeness and casually draped his arm across the booth behind me. I reveled in this new proximity, but still found myself wanting more. Unfortunately, before I could explore that feeling any further, I felt a strange buzzing on my thigh. _What the hell is that?_

"Shit! I'm sorry, that's my phone." Edward apologized as he stood up. "It's probably my sister, I forgot to call her." He shot me a questioning look. I assumed he was wanted to see if I would be alright alone with Mike. I nodded my head slightly. I could deal with Mike. Besides, how long could he possibly take? "This'll only take a few minutes." Edward said, as if he had known what I was thinking. At that he turned towards the door and went to stand right outside the club. I watched him as he walked, taking note of how good his ass looked in the jeans he was wearing. I shook my head trying to dislodge inappropriate thoughts of Edward.

"I'll be right back," I said to Mike, not bothering to look at him. I quickly rose from my seat and headed towards the bar. I could definitely use another drink before Edward comes back. Just being close to him for a short period of time had put my body into overdrive. I needed to mellow out a bit.

My outfit for this evening was drawing far more eyes my way than I was comfortable with. I tried moving along faster when I got the feeling that one of these sleeze-balls was going to approach me. It was bad enough being ogled by one of them who was sitting at my own table – or so I thought. Once again I felt an unwelcome touch. This time it was in the form of someone grabbing my wrist.

"Hey, buddy! _What the fuck_ do you think you're doing?!" I yelled over the loud music.

"Don't worry… you're in good hands," the familiar voice purred as its owner pulled me back into their chest. _Ugh!_ Mike.

"Mike, let go!" I said, but his grip on me only tightened.

"Don't be like that, Bella. Let's dance," he said, taking a hold of my hips and pulling me further into the crowd.

"Stop it! I don't want to dance!" I insisted, trying to wriggle my way out of his grasp. Just then I heard footsteps that sounded out of place; they were running towards us.

"What do you think you're doing?" It was Edward's voice, the only voice I wanted to hear right now. He sounded _pissed_!

"I'm dancing with Bella. What does it look like?" Mike snarled in response.

"Quite frankly, it looks like she doesn't want to dance with you, Mike." Edward snapped back. Thankfully, Mike had now let go of his hold on me and I moved to stand close to Edward.

"Whatever," Mike said, trying to sound indifferent as he sulked off. As soon as Mike had left and Edward was done shooting him threatening looks, Edward took hold of my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked. The features of his face were contorted into some expression that I couldn't identify. Fear… anxiety…worry… tenderness?

"Yeah. I… I'm fine." I struggled to find something to say through the relief that was flooding through me.

"Bella, I am so sorry. I should never have left you alone with that creep!"

"It's not your fault, Edward! I should be the one apologizing… you shouldn't have to keep saving me."

"But I want to," he insisted. _What could he possibly mean by that!?_

"Why? Don't get me wrong… I appreciate it, but no one else is here. I mean, you don't have to pretend to want to hang out with me anymore." I looked down hoping that he wouldn't see how much it pained me to say these things. "I know they asked you to. They're intent on finding their homely friend a man. It's not fair for them to drag you into this…"

"You are utterly absurd!" I looked up at him, completely shocked by his reaction. "I wanted to know you the moment I saw you at the club – before I had any idea that you were who the guys were trying to set me up with. I'm here with you because I want to be!"

"Oh," was all I could say at first. Being around Edward was making me extremely inarticulate. I tried again. "I'm sorry, I just thought that…" I trailed off because Edward pointed his index finger at me accusingly.

"Bella, if I hear you put yourself down or apologize to me one more time, I'm going to have to punish you," he said with a stern look on his face, but his eyes held a look of excitement.

"Is that a threat, Edward?" I asked coyly, trying not to let the shock I was feeling show on my face.

"No, Bella. That's a promise," he replied with a devilish grin as he pulled my body closer to his.

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry about this little cliffie, but I figured it would be the best place to stop the chapter. **

**I would just like to ask that you review after you read, please. It would really encourage me to get done with each chapter a bit quicker. I need your feedback so that I know what aspects you like and dislike, and hopefully make the story better! Thanks for reading :]]**

**- Fairest of Them All**


	7. Chapter 7

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

_Rock and roll all night_

_I rushed back to the mic to inform the crowd that our performance was going to be cut short. I was so excited about the possibilities tonight held that I couldn't stop myself from shooting Bella a quick smile. Much to my surprise and pleasure, she returned it with a spectacular smile of her own._

_I had high hopes for this evening, and all of them included Bella._

**xxxxxxxxxxx**

EPOV:

We quickly got our equipment off stage and started packing it away. The sooner we took care of all this stuff, the sooner I could be with Bella again. Apparently Jasper and Emmett had thoughts similar to my own because they seemed to be in an uncharacteristic hurry.

"Hey, Larry!" Emmett yelled at a volume that only he could manage. "I need to ask you a favor, bro."

"Sure thing, Em. What is it?" Larry replied as he walked up to the side of the stage. I had met him a couple of times and he seemed like a nice enough guy.

"Do you think you could take this stuff back to our place? Our women look like they're in desperate need of some attention." Emmett responded, stealing glances at the tall blonde waiting for him in the audience. That had to be Rosalie; she fit all of his descriptions of her perfectly. Which meant the tiny annoying one was Jasper's Alice. As long as she didn't interrupt me again when I was having a moment with Bella, we would be fine.

"No problem. Jim and I will take care of this stuff. You guys get out of here," Larry insisted.

"Thanks, Larry. You're a lifesaver!" Emmett beamed, giving Larry a pat on the back that kinda looked like it would hurt.

Jasper and Emmett looked like two kids on Christmas morning as they looked back into the crowd at their awaiting girlfriends. I wanted to be able to look at Bella the way they looked at Alice and Rosalie. I wanted to have some claim to her. I wanted her to be _mine_.

Once we were sure the equipment was taken care of, we rushed out of the small club. The girls would take one cab and we would be taking another. Much to our disappointment, there were too many of us to all fit in the same one. Still, we were very eager to see them again and we gave our cab driver a generous tip in advance to get us to the dance club as soon as possible.

It was obvious that Jasper and Emmett were anxious to see their girlfriends, but what was Mike so excited about? The only girl left was… Bella.

_My_ Bella.

Surely there was nothing going on between the two of them… Alice and Rosalie wouldn't be trying to set her up with me if she was already seeing someone… and surely Jasper and Emmett would know if she had an interest in Mike. I just had to hope that there was some other reason for Mike's excitement. None of the time I planned to spend with Bella included him.

Our cab driver kept his word and the normally 15 minute drive was cut down to a mere 9 minutes. Perfect, we had arrived there before Alice, Rosalie and Bella. I didn't want them to spend any unnecessary amount of time waiting for us. We waited outside the club for them to arrive. We wanted them to be able to find us easily (not to mention it was a lot easier to get inside with a group of beautiful ladies on your arm). We hadn't even been waiting there for 5 minutes when the girls hopped out of a cab in front of us. They looked almost as eager as I felt.

Bella looked even more gorgeous than she had earlier. _How was that possible?_ I just stood there staring at her walking towards me as I felt Jasper and Emmett scurry past me into the club with their girlfriends. I was in awe. After a few moments of being locked in my gaze, she stopped walking and looked down. _No! Why did she keep doing that? I needed to see her face!_ Before I could stop it from happening, my hand moved of its own volition and gently touched her chin to bring her face back up. _Much better_, I thought.

I just stood there losing myself in her eyes until I felt her shift her body into my side. I loved having her so close to me again, but despite myself, I looked around to see what could have caused this change. It didn't take long to see that this fucking prick, Mike, had put his hand on _my_ Bella. I felt relieved for a millisecond that his touch was unwelcome, but that was quickly replaced by the seething hate I felt for him. I used the full power of my glare and he immediately removed his hand. I looked down at Bella to make sure she wasn't upset. My heart almost stopped when I saw her smiling up at me. I felt a smile of my own light up my entire face and I was rewarded by her leaning further into me.

Feeling much better, I led Bella into the club. Although I would have preferred his absence all together, I didn't give a shit whether Mike was following us or not. Bella was by my side and although we weren't touching, I could feel the warmth of her body beside mine. Luckily, I found a booth for us to sit in. I wanted to talk and get to know her, although the alternative of dancing with her hott little body close to mine wasn't at all disagreeable. In fact, my cock was getting hard just thinking about it.

I silently thanked God as I sat down at the booth, the table hiding my growing problem. Bella moved in next to me and that ever annoying Mike slid in after her. To my immense pleasure, Bella continued moving closer to me. I felt a wave of confidence rush through me at the thought of her wanting to be nearer to me and I allowed my arm to rest behind her shoulders. I hoped that the way my arm was protectively slung around Bella that Mike would take the hint that she was mine. She didn't flinch away from my proximity and I took that as a good sign. _Maybe I was just imagining her being upset before… _My thoughts were interrupted by my cell phone vibrating in my pocket.

"Shit! I'm sorry, that's my phone… "It's probably my sister, I forgot to call her." Tanya had made me promise to call her after the show to find out how it went. I guess I had forgotten to do so in my excitement of meeting Bella. I was now standing and I looked down at Bella, hoping that she could see the apology in my eyes. I was also not pleased at the prospect of leaving her here with Mike, no matter how shortly it may be. She gave me a little nod as if she understood. "This'll only take a few minutes," I assured her as I headed to the door. There was no way I would be able to talk on the phone over the music playing. The only good thing about being away from Bella was that now I could tell Tanya about her. She always had the best advice when it came to girls. I flipped open my phone once I was outside.

_Tanya_, my phone read. She was so predictable.

"Hey, sorry I forgot to call," I apologized into the receiver.

"That's ok, just tell me how it went," she asked regarding the show.

"Great, I guess… Do you remember that girl I told you the guys' girlfriends were trying to set me up with? Well, I met her and she's perfect."

"Eddie, that's wonderful!"

"Tanya…" I warned. She knew I've always hated that nickname.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm so excited for you!" she exclaimed so loudly that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Thanks. Listen, I gotta get back to her soon. Any advice?" I asked, hoping to draw a little bit of wisdom from my older sister.

"Be yourself, silly!" _Ugh_.

"Ok, thanks. Gotta go." I said quickly.

"Love you!" she sang.

"Love you, too. Bye," I added as I closed my cell phone. _Time to get back to Bella!_ I practically ran back to our booth, only to find that neither Bella nor Mike were there. _Maybe they went to the bar to get a drink…_ She should have waited until I came back; I would have gladly gotten her anything she wanted. Just then I heard Bella's voice somewhere in the crowded dance floor. This time I found myself running for real when I heard what she was yelling.

"Let go!" I heard her cry over the loud music. I continued following her voice.

"Don't be like that, Bella. Let's dance," I heard a different voice say. I saw Mike pulling Bella roughly at the same time that I realized who had spoken.

"Stop it! I don't want to dance!" Bella yelled, trying to squirm her way out of his hands. _He had better get those fucking hands off of her if he wanted to keep them attached to his wrists!_

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, not bothering to disguise the fury in my voice.

"I'm dancing with Bella. What does it look like?" Mike had the audacity to respond.

"Quite frankly, it looks like she doesn't want to dance with you, Mike." I snapped at him. _He was lucky that I hadn't snapped his scrawny little neck!_ Wisely, Mike released his grip on Bella and she walked over to me, almost standing behind me.

"Whatever," Mike retorted. _Idiot_. I followed him angrily with my eyes until he disappeared before turning to Bella. I gently placed my hands on her shoulders and looked at her to try and figure out what she was feeling. She looked relieved.

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked her, still extremely concerned that he had done something to hurt her.

"Yeah. I… I'm fine," she mumbled. I wanted nothing more than to hold her and keep her safe.

"Bella, I am so sorry. I should never have left you alone with that creep!" I apologized profusely. _I was so stupid!_ _I could have stopped Mike from laying a hand on her if only I had ignored that call!_

"It's not your fault, Edward! I should be the one apologizing… you shouldn't have to keep saving me." _How could she possibly think that!? Was that what she wanted? I should have to grovel at her feet and beg for her forgiveness for leaving her alone._

"But I want to," I told her sincerely. _I wanted to be the only one to save her._

"Why? Don't get me wrong… I appreciate it, but no one else is here. I mean, you don't have to pretend to want to hang out with me anymore." She looked so remorseful as she spoke. Once again, she lowered her eyes. "I know they asked you to. They're intent on finding their homely friend a man. It's not fair for them to drag you into this…"

"You are utterly absurd!" I yelled at her, unable to hide my frustration. "I wanted to know you the moment I saw you at the club – before I had any idea that you were who the guys were trying to set me up with. I'm here with you because I want to be!" _How could she possibly think that I needed to be forced to be in her presence? Was this why she was so sad earlier? It had to be. _I almost laughed at the ludicrousness of it.

"Oh," Bella began. "I'm sorry, I just thought that…" before she could say something else that was completely ridiculous, I cut her off by pointing my finger at her. It was time for another gesture. _Obviously, she still didn't understand how she affected me._ Time to clarify.

"Bella, if I hear you put yourself down or apologize to me one more time, I'm going to have to punish you," I said, trying to make my face look serious, but I knew my eyes would betray my amusement.

"Is that a threat, Edward?" She asked, suddenly turning up the charm. _Damn, she was sexy!_ Just the sound of her voice was making me hard again.

"No, Bella. That's a promise," I replied, smirking as I started to pull her into me.

**Author's Note:**

**I've switched the order of Chapters 5+6 hoping that they would make more sense this way. I'm not sure why I had them ordered the way they were before. I'm only mentioning this in case someone noticed the change and wondered what the hell was going on. **

**Reviews = snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes :]]**

**- Fairest of Them All**


	8. Chapter 8

**Once again, I am not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I claim to be. All of the Twilight characters and such belong to her. I'm just giving them something different to do.**

***Author's Note*:**

**Okay, before you say anything about the length of this chapter, I just wanted to apologize to you for that. I know this is a poor excuse for a chapter! I've been sick and had some writer's block before that. I'm making this up as I go along, so I would gladly welcome reviews or private messages with suggestions of what you'd like to read in the near future!**

_Rock and roll all night_

"_Bella, if I hear you put yourself down or apologize to me one more time, I'm going to have to punish you."_

"_Is that a threat, Edward?"_

"_No, Bella. That's a promise."_

BPOV:

Very little was going through my mind right now other than the fact that Edward was touching me. That he wanted me to be closer to him. The further he pulled me into him the more I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body.

_I _really_ needed to thank Alice and Rose for dressing me tonight._ Thanks to the barely-there clothes I was wearing, Edward's strong hands were holding on to the bare skin of my sides, a feeling so intoxicating it should be made illegal.

_I needed more_. More of _this_. More of _him_.

Why did I have to be such an inexperienced nitwit? I could only draw upon what I had observed Alice and Rose do in the past. I knew nothing of how to receive the attention of a man that was welcome.

Edward was definitely not another loser and I was definitely in over my head… but I didn't have very long to dwell on that because a familiar tune started pumping out of the speakers.

_**Everybody  
Rock your body  
Everybody  
Rock your body right,  
Backstreet's back alright!**___

"No way! I _love_ this song!" I practically squealed in excitement. (An annoying habit that I seemed to have picked up from Alice.) I immediately regretted it once the sound escaped my lips. I wasn't a cute little pixie who could get away with noises like that. I froze, waiting for his reaction. Surely Edward was gonna run for his life now. After all, I was screaming like a preteen over the Back Street Boys! To my intense relief, he started laughing.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, offering me his hand.

"Sure," I replied in between giggles.

This situation was beyond ridiculous! Here I was at the ripe age of 22, dancing with the most gorgeous man in all of existence, in one of the hottest night clubs in town, dancing to the Backstreet Boys! What the hell…after reminding myself a few more times that this wasn't a middle school dance, I allowed myself to let loose.

EPOV:

I could not believe that I was dancing with Bella to the Backstreet Boys. But she was so beautiful in her excitement that I just wanted to be a part of it. I would do anything to keep that look of pure joy on her face, which was my motivation for my next actions.

I spun Bella around so that her cute little ass was facing me and wound my arms around her waist. Gently I lifted one of my hands to brush some of Bella's hair behind her ear. My hands

trailed down to her hips as my mouth moved until it was just brushing the shell of her ear. I felt her shiver in response to the light touch from my lips and the corners of my mouth turned up into a small grin.

I was fully aware that I was about to forfeit my cojones by singing Backstreet Boys, but at this point I was willing to do anything for Bella.

"_**Am I original?**__"_ I sang softly into her ear, my hands still planted on her hips._  
__**Yeah**_

She hummed along in response. Apparently, this little performance was becoming a duet.

_  
"__**Am I the only one?**__"_ I sang again as I felt her body moving in accord with mine, slowly pushing more of her weight into me. _Fuck! I didn't even care that my dick was getting hard while I was singing the Backstreet Boys and how gay this was. All I cared about was touching Bella.  
"__**Yeah**__," _she sang back to me this time. I stifled a moan and instead let my hands start creeping up Bella's warm, exposed sides.

_  
"__**Am I sexual?**__"_ I sang, lightly dragging my bottom lip across the outside of Bella's ear._  
"__**Yeah**__," _she replied as she quickly popped her ass back into my dick. _Fuck, I love the Backstreet Boys! _I heard Bella giggle at the quiet moan that had managed to escape my lips.

_  
"__**Am I everything you need?  
You better rock your body now**__," _was the last thing I sang as I continued to grind into Bella as she leaned back into me. She really seemed to be enjoying herself, but probably not half as much as I was. Dancing with Bella made my body feel like it was on fire. I was quickly becoming overheated and over stimulated.

I began to trail my hands up Bella's arms which she had only just wrapped around my neck. I kept moving my hands until I found hers and wrapped around them. Slowly I detangled them from my neck and moved her away from my body enough that I could spin her around to face me.

I suppose I was trying to be smooth, but apparently Bella's death heels had a different plan. The second I began to turn her small frame around her foot caught on some nonexistent obstacle. I caught her by the waist before she could come anywhere close to hitting the floor. _Was this a recurring event for her?_ I kinda hoped so. I wouldn't give up any excuse to keep touching her.

"Edward, I'm sor-" Bella began.

"Don't even think about it!" I said, effectively cutting her off. "Would you like to sit down and get something to drink?" I still hadn't had much time to talk to her. I was curious to see what she was thinking. I already knew how much I loved her blush, how her body felt in my arms and how it felt every time I got to save her.

I grabbed her hand once more and led her back to our booth, thankful that our friends hadn't come back to it yet.

**Author's Note:**

**Please review, I need motivation!**

**If you haven't already, read the top author's note.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I still don't own the Twilight characters, that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer, I just like to manipulate them. :K**

* * *

_Rock and roll all night_

**BPOV:**

I walked back to the booth with Edward with my mind in a haze. That dance had been so much fun! And so _hott!_ I had been wrapped up in the feeling of his hands gliding across my skin. I wanted him to be everywhere all at once. I was jolted out of my fantasies about his hands when I felt his hand skim across my lower back, trying to guide me into the booth.

As much as I had wanted to keep dancing, I understood his desire to get something to drink. My mouth was dry from the shallow panting that had started when his hands began their explorations. Besides, I was practically ready to throw myself at Edward and I didn't even know anything about him! It would be good to sit down over a drink and talk. I was curious to see if our minds were as in tuned as our bodies seemed to be.

I decided that I just wanted to know the basics. How old was he? What did he like to do outside of music? Chocolate or vanilla?

Simple things like that are important to me.

Edward ordered us two glasses of water from the bar and I smiled at him hopefully. It was nice to think that our dance had left him panting and wanting more also. Although, really I already knew that it had affected him. I had _felt_ it. His jeans really did nothing to hide his situation and Lord knows my skirt didn't do a damn thing! I blushed furiously and a small chill went down my spine at the thought of his hard cock rubbing against my ass.

I was immensely thankful for the club's cover of darkness. I loved that about Lunar Eclipse. It was dark enough to feel mysterious, but not so dark that you felt like you were in a cave. However, we were sitting very close now with his arm behind me once again and he noticed the shiver.

"Cold?" he asked as he gently rubbed his hand against my arm, creating pleasant friction. I noticed a small look of concern upon his brow.

"Um, not really… it was just from the water." I felt him starting to pull his hand away after my response. "It feels nice, though," I added quickly, throwing in a small smile. To my relief he smiled back and continued gently rubbing my arm. I would have been content to just sit there with him, but it's not often that I get my way.

"Oooh! Don't you two look nice and cozy?" I heard Rosalie purr as she down at our table, effectively killing the moment I was having with Edward.

"Hey, Rose. Back from your quickie with Emmett so soon?" I shot back at her.

"Yep." She was so blunt it was unbelievable sometimes, but I guess that's why I loved her.

"There was nothing quick about it!" Emmett huffed as he plopped down in the booth next to Rosalie.

"Easy big boy."

"Whatever," Emmett mumbled under his breath.

* * *

**EPOV:**

I was extremely annoyed when Emmett and Rosalie joined us again. I wanted to spend more time with Bella alone. There were so many things that I still had in store for tonight. I wanted to dance with her again. I wanted to kiss her, badly. I wanted to talk to her and find out more about her, I really did.

It's not that I didn't know I could just ask her to dance again, I just didn't want to be rude. What if she wanted to be with Rosalie? I had no right to hoard Bella's company like an old miser. I was just aimlessly looking around the club, trying to think of a way to get Bella alone again when I saw her. It didn't take more than a flash of her distinctive strawberry blonde hair for me to recognize my sister.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I growled. I quickly reminded myself to lower my voice as not to upset Bella, who was still close by my side.

"What?" Emmett questioned, obviously confused by my sudden aggravation.

"Em, look who's at the bar," I told him, nodding my head in Tanya's direction. Thankfully, she hadn't spotted me yet.

I had told him and Jasper all about my overprotective sister, Tanya. They had even met her before when they came over my place. She was always curious about girls I was interested in and she never thought they were good enough. I was sure that she had come here tonight to meddle some way in my love life. I knew that she had been unsatisfied by the lack of information about Bella, but _I_ didn't even know much about her! Looks like she took it upon herself to snoop and find out…

"Oh. How did she know we were here, bro?" Emmett asked, still a little confused.

"I don't know… she must have heard someone say the club name when I spoke to her earlier."

"What are you gonna do?" It looked like Emmett was thinking about my options. He only had that funny look on his face when he was trying to think about something.

"I'm gonna go over there and tell her off, that's what I'm gonna do. I can't believe she came here to spy on me!" I responded angrily. There was no way in hell I was going to allow my sister to ruin things between Bella and me before they even began.

"How about I come with you? I wouldn't want you to hit a girl." Emmett chuckled. I figured there was no reason to tell him that of all the times Tanya and I wrestled when we were younger, she usually won.

"Yeah, sure." I said, brushing him off.

"Please excuse us, ladies. Eddie's got some business to attend to." Emmett stated with a wink at Rosalie and Bella.

I marched directly up to my sister and tapped on her shoulder.

"Eddie, what a surprise seeing you here!" She exclaimed as her gray-blue eyes widened in mock amazement.

"Knock it off, Tanya. What exactly do you think you're doing here?" I demanded.

"What? Is it a crime for a girl to get a drink around here?" She asked innocently.

"No, but do you know what is a crime? _STALKING_!" I seethed at her.

"How is coming to check up on my baby brother stalking?"

"You came here to spy, or worse, _meddle_!" I accused.

"But you didn't give me anything to work with on the phone!" She said, jutting her lower lip out. _Oh no_. The Tanya Pouty Face was not going to work right now.

"And you couldn't have waited until I got home tonight!? Well, I guess you don't have to worry about that now because I'm gonna be coming home and sleeping _alone_ tonight when Bella runs away from me screaming because of my crazy, overbearing sister!"

"Eddie…" Tanya began, a look of genuine remorse on her face.

"Don't, Tanya. Just go home, okay?" I practically begged, pinching the bridge of my nose. I always find myself doing that subconsciously whenever I'm stressed.

"If that's what you want," Tanya replied weakly. I knew I was being incredibly short-tempered with her, but I was too irritated to think about the consequences right now.

"It is. Now I'd to get back to my date. Can we talk about this later?" I asked nicely, hoping to make up for my rudeness a little.

"Sure. I'm sorry to have kept you."

* * *

**TPOV:**

Even as Edward yelled at me, I couldn't believe it. How could my baby brother not need me anymore? We were less than two years apart in age and we always did everything together. That was partly why I suggested for him to audition for the band.

He needed to branch out. He needed guy friends that he could go out and do manly things with. But even though I knew Edward shouldn't spend so much time with me, this still hurt. It's not like Edward and I had never fought before, but it was usually just about little stupid things. He was never cold and abrupt like this and he had certainly never dismissed me before.

I allowed my face to fall when he turned his back to me and strode back to the booth they were sitting in. I saw Emmett keep looking back at me, shooting me looks of apology. I smiled at him, letting him know it was okay. Edward and I loved each other. Whatever we were going through right now wouldn't change that.

I took one more wistful look at my brother and walked out of the club.

* * *

**BPOV:**

Rose and I watched Emmett and Edward walk over to the bar. Edward had seemed really annoyed by something before they had gotten up. Edward approached leggy blonde while Emmett sort of stayed back. The longer they talked the more animated Edward became. I could see his profile and I was shocked by how angry he looked. He kept clenching his jaw and gesturing with his hands. It almost looked like a lover's quarrel, except the woman didn't appear to be yelling back.

_What was going on?_

I couldn't process the scene in front of me. None of this fit with the Edward I had begun to put together in my head.

"Do you think that's his ex or something?" Rosalie mused. "Didn't Edward say something like she followed him here?" I couldn't do anything but give a little shrug of my shoulders.

I continued watching the interaction between Edward and the blonde woman. I turned my attention to the woman's face now. She was beautiful. She had perfect, straight features and piercing blue-gray eyes. She looked like her heart was breaking as Edward spoke, or rather yelled at her. It was _horrible_. Despite how harsh he was being with her, she still looked back at him with… with adoration through her pained expression.

This situation didn't make sense to me at all.

I kept staring as Edward stormed back to our booth. _What now?_ It's not like anything had changed between us in the last few minutes, but at the same time I knew that wasn't entirely true. I didn't know anything about Edward. That woman could have been his girlfriend, an ex, a one night stand, his _wife_ for all I knew. It looked like she loved him and he just brushed her off after his rant.

_Was this what Edward was really like?_ He had seemed so sweet and charming. So talented and good looking. Not to mention the unexplainable connection I felt every time we touched. _That doesn't mean anything if he has a wife, you stupid home wrecker! _My conscience screamed at me.

I quickly excused myself to the restroom before Edward had made it back to the table. I needed to think this over. I just couldn't face him right away. I had tried seducing him on that stupid dance floor without even knowing it. _STUPID!_ I hadn't asked any questions then, because I was selfish and I wanted him. _STUPID!_

When I was finally done rebuking myself, I took a deep breath and one last look in the full-length mirror. I was still barley wearing any clothing, but my expression was a little more collected than it had been before.

To my chagrin, Edward was waiting outside the restroom door. _Damnit!_ I was hoping to have more time to collect my thoughts on my way back to our booth.

The look of anger had left Edward's face completely and all that remained was concern. For _me_.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked warily. "I saw you get up from the table quickly and you looked flustered."

"To be honest Edward, I don't know."

* * *

**A/N: Ahhh sorry for that little bit of a cliffie. PLEASE review! I need the encouragement**


	10. Chapter 10

****

I still don't own the Twilight characters, that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer; I just like to manipulate them. :K

_Rock and roll all night_

_The look of anger had left Edward's face completely and all that remained was concern. For me._

"_Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked warily. "I saw you get up from the table quickly and you looked flustered."_

"_To be honest Edward, I don't know."_

* * *

**EPOV:**

I walked slowly back to the booth, trying to compose myself. As annoyed as I was by Tanya coming here, I was also embarrassed. I didn't want everyone to think that I needed my sister to take care of me, especially not Bella. But as I approached the table I watched Bella retreat to the back of the club with a look of unease on her beautiful face. _Shit_. Something was wrong.

Instead of stopping at our table I followed after Bella, but she went right into the Women's restroom. I really wanted to see her and make sure she was okay, but I respected her need for privacy and waited for her to come out. After what felt like eons, Bella emerged from the restroom. I was relieved to see that she looked better. I immediately went to her side to make sure she was alright.

"What's wrong, Bella? Are you ill?" I asked her, frantically looking her over to make sure that she hadn't been harmed.

"No, it's not that… it's just… I don't know you, Edward," she replied. She was right, but I still didn't understand why she was so upset. "That situation back there at the bar really got me questioning what you and I are doing." This was about Tanya. _I knew this would happen!_

"I'm sorry about before," I apologized. "I knew that Tanya's presence would upset you. It was not her place to come here. Don't worry, though. I told her to go back to the apartment and butt out." I assured her.

"You did what?" Bella blanched. Surely she didn't think I would take charge of the situation.

"It's none of her business what goes on between you and me." I said confidently, willing Bella to believe that I had everything under control.

"How can you say that?" Bella asked, looking absolutely horrified. Why was she so upset about Tanya and I having an argument? Siblings fight all the time.

"Because it's the truth." I assured her.

"Will you listen to yourself?" Bella demanded. Now I was starting to get confused. "Is that how you treat all of your girlfriends?" _Huh?_ I would never put up with Tanya if we weren't related. She was high-maintenance and absolutely nuts, but she's also my sister and I love her.

"Tanya's not my girlfriend, Bella." _Duh._

"Oh, God! She really is your wife!" Bella exclaimed.

"What!?" More like '_what the fuck!?_'

"Excuse me." Bella said brusquely as she pushed her way past me, obviously trying to get away.

"Bella, wait! Please Bella, let me explain!" I pleaded as I walked after her.

"I don't want to hear it, Edward," she snapped at me as she tried gathering her belongings from the booth. Emmett and Rosalie watched on in extreme confusion. I was sure the expression my face wore was very similar to theirs.

"You should listen to what he has to say, Bells." Emmett cut in as he and Rosalie got up from their seats. Obviously they were giving us some time alone to work this out. I looked at Emmett trying to express the gratitude I felt.

"Alright, let's hear it," Bella demanded, glaring at Emmett and Rosalie like they had betrayed her. I better make this right, and _fast_.

"Tanya's my sister," I quickly choked out. I knew if I didn't give her a good explanation she would be out of here and out of my life forever.

"She is?" Bella questioned, obviously not expecting this answer.

"Yes."

"Oh. Edward, I'm sorry!" I allowed her to apologize this time. She looked like she felt so guilty. But there was no chance that I would let her feel bad about this. This was _completely_ my fault. I had talked about living with a woman she didn't know anything about and then proceeded to disrespect said woman in front of her. _I must look like a monster!_

"Bella, its fine. I owe you an explanation for acting like a lunatic. Tanya is my older sister. We share an apartment and she is extremely nosy, especially when it comes to my personal life. When I talked to her on the phone earlier she must have overheard where we were. I told her that the show went well… and that… that I met someone I really liked." I admitted, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. But, whatever. I had put Bella in an extremely uncomfortable situation and she deserved my complete honesty. "I guess she was unsatisfied by the amount of info I gave her over the phone so she came here to spy on us…"

"Really?" Bella asked, her brown doe eyes growing wide.

"Yeah… that's why I yelled at her. I was afraid that my crazy sister would scare you away, but I guess I did that by myself." I was truly ashamed by my behavior; I couldn't even look Bella in the eye right now. "I know I overreacted and I felt horrible after I yelled at her. I never yell at Tanya, or any woman for that matter."

"Edward, I…oh my God… I can't believe I jumped to such conclusions," Bella exclaimed. I could tell she was going to start apologizing again, so I cut her off before she could say anymore.

"Don't worry, I'm an idiot. Jasper and Emmett have met Tanya before and I shouldn't have just assumed that you understood the situation."

"Do you mean it?" Bella asked, all of a sudden getting shy.

"That I'm an idiot? Yes." I said, adamantly nodding my head. _Idiot doesn't even begin to cover it._

"No, not that. Do you… really…like me?" She asked in a very small voice. I could tell that she was trying to avoid eye contact again so I gently held onto her chin to make her look at me.

"Yes, _of course_ I mean it," I told her wholeheartedly. The idea of me not liking Bella was absolutely preposterous. I knew that I was going to have to prove it to her soon.

"Ok, then can we please start over?" She asked, breathing (what I thought was) a sigh of relief.

"Sure. Do you wanna sit down?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said with a smile as she slid easily into the booth.

**BPOV:**

If there is a God, He or She must be Hell-bent on me making an ass of myself tonight. Yet despite crashing into him, calling him a loser, acting like a 12 year old girl, and essentially accusing him of incest, Edward just told me that he liked me. _In what alternate plane of reality did I get so damn lucky? _I was determined to not let myself fuck up my chances again.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know it's really short, but I wanted you guys to see how the situation resolved itself. I'll be updating as soon as I can.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I still don't own the Twilight characters (that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer)… I just like to manipulate them. :K**

_Rock and roll all night_

_If there is a God, He or She must be Hell-bent on me making an ass of myself tonight. Yet despite crashing into him, calling him a loser, acting like a 12 year old girl, and essentially accusing him of incest, Edward just told me that he liked me. __**In what alternate plane of reality did I get so damn lucky?**__ I was determined to not let myself fuck up my chances again._

**

* * *

****BPOV:**

I couldn't help but feel excited that I was finally going to get to know Edward. I really meant it when I said that I wanted us to start over. We had gotten ourselves seated comfortable in the booth. Edward had turned completely to face me, one leg laid on the seat with his arm once again casually draped across the back of the booth. My outfit didn't allow me to lounge that comfortably without exposing myself, so I was sitting with my legs crossed under the table with my torso slightly turned towards him.

"How should we start?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"You first," he responded, motioning with his hand for me to begin.

"Ok. Hmmmm…What's your favorite thing to do when you're alone?" I asked. Unfortunately, I didn't really think of how that question could be construed until it had come out of my mouth. That probably had something to do with the fact that I was watching _his mouth_ a little too intently.

"I, um… play the piano," he replied somewhat hesitantly, casting his eyes downward. _Crap!_ I had probably made him uncomfortable with the unintentional implications of my question.

"Really?" I hadn't been expecting that response. "What kind of music do you play?" I gently prodded for him to continue, hoping to draw away from this tension.

"Really. I play mostly classical. Mozart, Debussy… that sort of thing." He answered quickly, shifting around in his seat. Obviously focusing on his piano playing wasn't helping.

"Wow. How long have you been playing?" I was unable to stop myself from asking him more questions about his music, though. It came as such a surprise. I was intrigued.

"I've been playing since I was 10. That's when my lessons started," he replied, tersely.

"Is something wrong? I really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just…"

"No!" he practically yelled. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just that I don't normally talk about playing the piano. It's kind of embarrassing." He answered, running a hand quickly through his short bronze hair. I watched him closely and realized how badly I wanted to be doing that.

"Why would that be embarrassing?" I asked, trying to take my thoughts off of running my hands all over him. That was obviously a very dangerous train of thought. Especially since we ordered another round of Malibu and Cokes when we sat down. I could feel my inhibitions slowly slipping away one by one as I sat next to this green-eyed Adonis.

"Actually… I don't know," he stated with a short laugh. His eyes did that adorable squint as a smile lit up his face. Somehow while I was caught up staring at him like an idiot I managed to realize how much I had monopolized our question asking.

"Edward, I'm really sorry! That was definitely more than one question," I apologized.

"Bella," he said in a warning tone. I felt my body heat up in response. Something about the slight growl he gave while saying my name had a strange effect on me.

"Oops! Right, no more apologizing," I promised with a smile. "It's your turn."

"Ok. Is 'Bella' short for anything?"

"Isabella," I replied. He gave a little nod to himself as if mentally storing away my answer.

"Chocolate of vanilla ice cream?" I asked. I really was interested in getting to know all the little things. As I waited for his response my mind wandered to the **Philosophy **body wash set Alice had given me for my birthday earlier this week. The scents were Chocolate Frosting, Vanilla Birthday Cake, and Strawberry Ice Cream.

"Neither. I prefer strawberry," he answered with a tiny smirk. I had used the Strawberry one in the shower earlier today; it was my favorite.

_That was an interesting coincidence_, I thought. But I quickly shook it off as just that: a coincidence. Surely he hadn't noticed my preference of body wash from just sitting near me or in the short time we were dancing… Yet all the same I couldn't stop the errant thought of Edward's tongue gently caressing across my collarbone from flitting through my head. I gasped a little and watched as his tiny smirk turned into an all out grin. _He couldn't possibly know… could he?_

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, slightly cocking his to the side. _Shit! What do I say?_ It's not like I could be honest with him. I'm pretty sure that even though he said he liked me, admitting to being caught in the middle of a fantasy involving him and his tongue was a little much.

"Nothing important," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. He didn't look convinced, but thankfully he let it go. "What's your favorite drink?" I asked, trying to steer us toward a different topic.

"Johnnie Walker Gold Label chilled and neat," he said matter-of-factly. "Would you like me to order us a round?"

"Sure, but you know that counted as your question, right?" I answered with a sly grin.

"That's fine. I'll be right back," he said, easily rising from the table. He started to turn towards the bar, but hesitated and spun around to face me. I gave him a confused look, not wanting to waste my next question to get an explanation. "On second thought, here's my cell phone number," he said, picking up my phone and nimbly adding his number. "I want you to text me right away if that creep, Mike, comes back, ok?" I took in the very serious look on his face and just nodded. At that he turned around again and went up to the bar.

To be honest, I was glad to have a little extra time to think of my next question. Edward's response to my simple ice cream question had really thrown me off. I couldn't stop the nagging suspicion that he had been teasing me in some way. _Two can play at that game…_

Hmmm… agame… _that's it!_

As soon as I finished scheming, Edward returned with two glasses in his hands. I thanked him as he sat back down.

"Edward, would you like to play a game?"

"Sure. What kind of game? Like a drinking game?"

"No, not quite. It's more like… a touching game," I explained with an innocent smile. Edward had already agreed, so I didn't wait for a response as he stared at me, slack-jawed. "It's called 'Are you afraid?' We take turns touching each other until one of us shies away or admits to being nervous. Loser buys the next round?"

"Okay," he responded with a nod. I watched his Adam's apple rise and fall as he took a drink from his glass. I did the same, noting how smooth the whiskey was. He had great taste. I smiled innocently again.

_Let the games begin._

* * *

**EPOV:**

I picked up the two glasses that the bartender had just set down. I was eager to share my favorite drink with Bella. _I hope she likes it_. It was really nice getting to know Bella and it was even nicer to tease her a little.

When she asked me about my favorite ice cream I really couldn't help myself. When we were dancing before I noticed how sweet she smelled, like ripe strawberries. When we were sitting together I kept taking deep breathes in through my nose so that I could keep taking in her scent. I had quickly offered to get us drinks when I caught myself wondering if she would taste as sweet as she smelled.

I had gotten my shit together while I was waiting for our drinks and I calmly walked back to where we were sitting. I put our drinks on the table and slid back into the booth. Bella murmured her thanks and immediately I could tell that something was up.

"Edward, would you like to play a game?" She asked coyly. _I wonder if this is her question_.

"Sure. What kind of game?" I asked. "Like a drinking game?"

"No, not quite. It's more like… a touching game." I felt my jaw drop and she must have taken my silence as a cue to continue. "It's called 'Are you afraid?' We take turns touching each other until one of us shies away or admits to being nervous. Loser buys the next round?"

"Okay." _Well, fuck me!_

Looks like Bella and I really are going to get to know each other.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Sorry for the wait, please review! I need lots of encouragement to keep going!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I still don't own the Twilight characters (that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer)… I just like to manipulate them. :K**

_Rock and roll all night_

"_No, not quite. It's more like… a touching game." I felt my jaw drop and she must have taken my silence as a cue to continue. "It's called 'Are you afraid?' We take turns touching each other until one of us shies away or admits to being nervous. Loser buys the next round?"_

"_Okay." __**Well, fuck me!**_

_Looks like Bella and I really are going to get to know each other._

**

* * *

****EPOV:**

"How about we continue asking other questions to serve the purpose of getting to know each other?" Bella asked and I nodded in agreement. "How about you start off this round since I started last time?"

"Sure. How about you ask, I touch?" I offered.

I knew that once I started touching her that my brain would have a difficult time formulating a coherent response, let alone a question. I had to attempt putting off blabbering like an idiot for as long as I could manage.

"One more thing… you're not limited to only using your hands." Bella informed me with a devilish wink. _She is going to be the death of me, I swear it._

I couldn't lose my cool just yet, so as confidently as I could, I placed my hand gently on her knee. Thankfully, she took that as a sign to begin the game.

"Hmmm. Let me see…" Bella wondered out loud. Ever so slowly my fingers started drawing light, random patterns across the smooth skin of her knee. It was just as soft as her stomach.

I looked up just in time to see Bella's eyes flutter closed. There was a small smile playing across her lips. I was still waiting on her question as I began to inch my pattern drawing slowly up and then back down to Bella's knee. My hand traveled further and further up each pass as I waited.

I stopped at the hem of her impossibly short skirt, running my fingers across the edge. "How old are you?" she asked as her voice cracked the tiniest bit.

"24," I answered with a small laugh. That seemed to snap Bella back into focus and she gave me a calculating look. "Are you afraid?" I teased.

"No," she said abruptly, playfully smacking my hand away. "My turn to touch."

* * *

**BPOV:**

It took me much longer to come up with a question than it should have. I just couldn't think of anything but the feeling of his hands on me again. His touches were feather light and yet that made them feel all the more intense.

There were plenty of things that I wanted to ask him, but '_can you move your hand just a little higher?_' just didn't seem appropriate right now. So I just asked him something extremely basic that didn't matter to me in the least. Age. Besides, there was a 2 year age difference, not 100!

I was slightly annoyed when he seemed to notice the effect he was having me and I quickly moved along with our little game. I just wanted to touch him. So I did what I had wanted to do since I first saw him. Starting with his cheekbones I began to gently trace the contours of his beautiful face. My hand traveled slowly down his cheekbone to his jaw then across his chin, reversing the order of my actions. I continued as I moved lightly across each brow and down the straight line of his nose.

Without telling my body to move, I found myself slowly leaning in the closer I got to his lips. I stopped myself, looking into his eyes. I was shocked to see his green eyes watching me intently. We both just sat there silently, watching each other and I realized that I was waiting for something.

"Isn't there… um… something you wanted to ask me?" I asked as I gave him a sweet, knowing smile. _Glad to see I wasn't the only one enjoying this a little too much_.

"Yes, there was… but I forgot," he replied simply, returning my smile with a handsomely crooked one of his own.

I couldn't help but giggle at his honesty. I had started this game to have a little fun with Edward, but it quickly became clear that our flirtatious touches were not conducive to thinking clearly.

"Would you like to dance?" Edward asked me.

"Is that your question?" I quickly retorted.

"I guess it is now," he responded with another smile that made me melt. "I got distracted before," he admitted, leaning in like he was telling me a secret.

"Alright," I agreed as he took my hand and led me onto the dance floor for the second time this evening.

It wasn't as though I hadn't been able to hear the music from where we were sitting, but now that I was in the mood to dance I felt the beat pulsing through my body. Edward stopped walking once we found a spot on the floor that was slightly less crowded. Somehow I managed to be so busy watching him that I didn't notice his abrupt stop, causing me to walk right into his broad chest.

I felt him put one hand on my hip and the other on my back to steady me. My hands automatically went in front of me onto his chest. But instead of releasing me once I was balanced, he held me to him. _Not that you would ever find me complaining_. For a few seconds we just stood there looking at each other.

Slowly his hands started to glide across the skin of my back until they were both situated on my hips. I felt him gently tug me closer to him and I eagerly closed the small space between us. Soon I felt another gentle pressure and this time he was beginning to guide my hips in swaying to the music. I continued looking into his eyes as I slid my hands from his chest to rest where his shoulders meet his neck. He wasn't wearing any other layers beside a t-shirt now and I lightly traced along the neck of his shirt.

_**Ooh, looks like we're alone now  
You aint gotta be scared  
Where you going now?  
I'm a have to defrost on ya  
Let's get it blazin'**_

My fingers kept playing across his neck as we danced and I thought over what I was about to ask. The music was playing loudly so I had to lean in very close to his ear to ensure that he could hear me.

"Edward? If asking me to dance counted as your question… that would make it my turn."

"Right," he nodded in agreement and for me to continue. I could feel his stubble lightly rub against my face at his small movement. The feeling that sent through my body only added to the desire behind my question.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" Even I was a little shocked by my forwardness, but I couldn't help it. I _needed_ this.

_**  
We can turn the heat up if you wanna  
Turn the lights down low if you wanna  
Just wanna move you  
But you're frozen  
That's what I'm saying**_

When Edward didn't respond, my body's reaction was to stop dancing, but his hands continued to move my body in synch with his. I kept looking at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Edward, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that. I was… I was…"

"Stop," he demanded. He didn't yell, but his tone was very firm. "Didn't I tell you that there would be consequences if you kept apologizing to me?"

* * *

**EPOV:**

Bella had just _asked_ if she could kiss me. That was just fuckin' hott! I hadn't meant to seem like I was hesitating, but I was in awe of the woman standing before me. _As if there were anything she could possibly do to me that I wouldn't readily agree to._ I felt pretty bad about her thinking I was rejecting her in some way, but the second she started apologizing a plan started to form in my head.

"Stop," I told her, trying to be firm but not too intimidating. "Didn't I tell you that there would be consequences if you kept apologizing to me?"

A look of shock played upon her face, but it was quickly replaced by understanding and amusement.

_**  
Let me break the ice  
Allow me to get you right  
Let you warm up to me  
Baby I can make you feel (Hot, Hot, Hot)**_

"Yes, you did," she admitted.

"Bella, Bella, Bella… what am I going to do with you?" I tsked in mock disapproval. Tenderly I used one hand to brush her hair behind her ear as I slowly leaned in closer.

"How about I get that kiss now and we can save your punishment for later?" I whispered in her ear.

_**  
Let me break the ice  
Allow me to get you right  
Let you warm up to me  
Baby I can make you feel (Hot, Hot, Hot)**_

I pulled my face back slowly so that I could look at her reaction. Her luscious pink mouth was pursed in a little "o" and I could easily see the desire in her eyes as she looked back at me. Ever so slowly her small, delicate hand crawled back up my neck until she was cupping the side of my face. She moved her thumb so that it lightly started tracing my bottom lip.

I started brushing my thumbs against her hips in encouraging circles. I wanted… no, _needed_ to taste her. Using a little more force than necessary, I grabbed her hips pulling her into me as my mouth eagerly descended to meet hers.

_**  
**_When our lips finally touched it was only for the most fleeting of moments, but it was still better than anything I had ever felt before. The taste of _my_ drink on her lips was heavenly. She was sweeter than I ever imagined and her taste complimented the alcohol perfectly. I wasn't sure which one of us pulled away first, but the second I saw the hungry look in her eyes my mouth quickly dove back to hers.

This kiss wasn't soft like the first. This time I greedily went after her lips. Bella seemed to share my sense of urgency as her arms began to entwine around my neck, pulling me closer. Yet it still wasn't close enough for me. I began gently nibbling and sucking on her bottom lip. I could tell that Bella liked that a lot because after repeating the action she parted her lips a little and released a small moan.

I took this opportunity to softly press my tongue into her mouth. Her own tongue was waiting to meet mine with soft caresses. I was absolutely in Heaven as I took in the taste, smell, and feel of Bella.

_My_ Bella.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I hope you like it! I tried not ending with a cliffie this time. **

**I know that my chapters are quite short, but I find myself struggling to get past the 2,000 word mark. I'm putting a conscious effort into making them longer from now on. I'll do what I can.**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I still don't own the Twilight characters (that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer)… I just like to manipulate them. :K**

_Rock and roll all night_

_I took this opportunity to softly press my tongue into her mouth. Her own tongue was waiting to meet mine with soft caresses. I was absolutely in Heaven as I took in the taste, smell, and feel of Bella. _

_**My**__ Bella._

* * *

**BPOV:**

_Hot. Sweet. Wet. Delicious. Absolutely addictive. _

I couldn't think of enough adjectives to describe the way Edward's mouth felt on mine.

He tasted just as good as he smelled, maybe even better. _Clean. Tangy. Mouth-watering._

I wanted his mouth to be all over me. Claiming every part he touched.

When he started tugging at my lip I thought that I was going to implode. I moaned a little into his mouth, wanting him to know how much I enjoyed it.

Everything about Edward overpowered my senses the moment his tongue entered my mouth for the first time. The taste was so much stronger, the feeling of him in my mouth so much more intense.

_I wanted more._

I removed one arm from around his neck only to trail it down his chest and to his side. My hand clenched into a fist around the fabric of his shirt and I pulled my body flush against his. I didn't want there to be any space in between us.

I continued tugging on his shirt until he moved his hands to my back, holding me tightly against him. Exactly where I wanted to be. Edward began stroking and gliding his smooth hands across the exposed skin of my back.

I had kept up the rhythm that he started while dancing, only now my hips were more deliberately grinding against his very prominent arousal. He began meeting my movements with him own, slowly increasing in pressure. Had it been any other guy I would have been slightly affronted, but not Edward. I was savoring the fact that he wanted me. I was drawing out this moment for everything it was worth.

As I plundered his mouth with my tongue, I began to lightly drag my fingernails down the nape of his neck. Much to my delight, this elicited a shiver and a deep guttural noise from Edward. I smiled into his soft lips.

My smile disappeared when I felt Edward's face pulling away much too soon. It wasn't gone for long though, as Edward's mouth promptly went to work just below my ear. I felt his hot breath and soft kisses against my neck. He slowly moved back up my neck and jaw to place one last sweet kiss on my lips.

We stayed with our arms wrapped tightly around each other as I looked up at Edward with a ridiculously large smile on my face. I went back to using my fingers to explore the contours of his face. I was easily mesmerized by the look of contentment in his eyes. Edward leaned down so that his cheek was resting against my own.

"Bella?" he whispered against my skin, quickly raising goose bumps. I merely whimpered in response. "I think your friend wants to speak with you." I turned around to see who had the audacity to interrupt.

Alice. _That little pixie stick wench!_

"Very cozy indeed," she cooed. I wondered how long she had been standing there. What had she seen?

"Was there something you wanted, Alice?" I sneered. _Other than shooting for cock-block of the year?_

"Yes, there was actually. It's getting rather late and I have a meeting in the morning, so I wanted to head home. And while I am sorry to have interrupted, I didn't think you would appreciate your best friend leaving without telling you," Alice countered my attitude with her own.

"You're right, Alice," I conceded and she smiled brightly. She loved when I admitted she was right. Annoyingly, she usually was. "Thank you for letting me know where you were going home."

"Call me when you get home, k?"

"Of course."

"Night, Bella! Love you. Good bye, Edward." Alice called to us, turning to leave with Jasper.

"Do you need to leave, also?" Edward asked me as his brow knit together a little in concern.

"Nope. I don't have to work on Fridays," I answered, beaming.

"Wonderful," Edward replied, radiating genuine happiness.

Edward and I spent the next hour or so back in our private little booth talking about everything and nothing at all. I was shocked how comfortable I could be with someone I was so sexually attracted to. The air between us still had an electric quality to it, but I never once felt uncomfortable.

"Wow, it is getting late. I should make sure you get home."

"Ok." I was more than a little disappointed that my time with Edward was ending.

"C'mon, let's grab a taxi," Edward said as he grabbed my hand and helped me out of the booth. The current running through our hands didn't go unnoticed by me. I just nodded in agreement, happy to have just a little more time with him.

Another great thing about Lunar Eclipse was that they always had taxis waiting outside for their patrons. Smart, safe, and convenient. We quickly found an empty one and hopped in. Edward slid in to the far window and I sat in the seat closest to the door.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked, looking at me like I had 3 heads.

"I'm sitting?" I replied, but it was more of a question than an answer. I squealed in surprise as Edward pulled me over to the seat next to him.

"You were so far away," he complained, slightly jutting out his sexy bottom lip.

"Edward, I hate riding bitch!"

"A problem that is easily solved," I tried to hold in my squeal this time as Edward easily scooped me up and placed me on his lap. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," I answered in between giggles. Edward started laughing along and I have to admit that I enjoyed the sensation of both our bodies rocking with laughter and me on Edward's lap a little too much. I blushed at how I just couldn't keep these dirty thoughts out of my head when I was around Edward. It was like my body was calling for him.

We sat like that for the rest of the ride to my apartment, chatting. We made comfortable small talk as Edward ran his fingers through my hair, smoothing out all of the product Alice and Rosalie had piled in it earlier. I occupied my hands by fiddling with the hem of his plaid zip-up that he put back on when we got outside.

Unfortunately, we arrived at my apartment building much faster than I would have liked. I stayed on Edward's lap for a few moments longer. I didn't want my night with him to be over, but I was afraid he would get the wrong impression if I invited him in. I knew it was too soon. We had only just met, even if it didn't feel that way.

"Edward, I…" I began, honestly still not knowing what I was going to say. Luckily he cut me off by covering my mouth with his own. For the second time that evening his lips were moving tenderly against mine. I could tell that he didn't want me to go either, but we both felt the finality in our kiss.

"Goodnight, Bella," Edward said, placing one more small kiss on my lips. "I'll take care of the cab fare. Text me when you get up to your apartment and settled in."

"Okay. Goodnight, Edward," I said as I climbed out of the cab. I allowed myself one last look over my shoulder when I was entering my building and saw Edward wave to me as the taxi drove away. Once I was inside, I practically skipped to the elevator. I bet I was giving Alice a run for her money, but I honestly didn't care.

I heard the ding indicating I had reached my floor and ran straight for my apartment. I couldn't wait to talk to Edward again. I got my door open as quickly as I could with my shaky hands. When I got inside I locked the door behind me and ran to my bedroom. I kicked off my ridiculously high shoes, unzipped the skirt, stripped off the shirt and went to find my pajamas and bring them into the bathroom. _Much better_, I thought as I pulled on my favorite green flannel bottoms and mismatched t-shirt. I wiped all the makeup off my face and attempted to brush out my hair and pull it back in a messy bun. I brushed my teeth for a mandatory 2 minutes and then rushed back into my bedroom.

I rummaged through my purse and grabbed my cell phone before climbing into my bed.

_**Contacts:**_

_Edward Cullen_

_**Options:**_

_Send TXT Msg_

_**To:**__ Edward_

_Hey, I'm safe n sound :)_

_-Bella_

Less than two minutes after I closed my phone it started to vibrate. Speedy response. That's a good sign, right?

_**To:**__ Bella_

_I'm glad to hear that. _

_Do you want to have brunch w/ me tomorrow? I understand if you already have plans_

_-Edward_

Edward wanted to see me again! Being the mature young woman that I am, I squealed and started kicking my feet.

_**To:**__ Edward_

_I'd love to. Did you have a time and place in mind?_

_-Bella_

I stared at my phone eagerly as it sat on my bed next to me. I didn't have to wait long.

_**To:**__ Bella_

_Panera Bread on Broad St., 11:15?_

_-Edward_

I hastily entered my response and pressed send. I didn't care if I seemed too eager.

_**To:**__ Edward_

_Perfect! I'll see you then_

_-Bella_

Edward responded just as quickly as he had with his other messages.

_**To:**__ Bella_

_Alright then, it's a date ;)_

_-Edward_

I'm going on a date with Edward! I'm going on a date with Edward!

I laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes with a huge smile on my face. I was absolutely certain of three things:

Edward Cullen was excited to see me again soon.

He was undeniably sexy and an amazing kisser.

And finally – Edward Cullen was not a loser.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please review, I love to hear your thoughts! **

**Sorry this chapter took so long, I got stuck.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I still don't own the Twilight characters (that honor goes to Stephanie Meyer)… I just like to manipulate them. :K**

_Rock and roll all night_

* * *

**BPOV:**

I squirmed impatiently underneath Edward's touch and he leisurely kissed and petted his way up my legs. We were both laying naked on my bed as we crawled up my body.

"Edward, please," I begged quietly.

"'Please' what, Bella?" He asked, trailing kisses from my belly button to the valley between my breasts.

"I want you. So badly."

"Good, because I want nothing more than to have my cock inside of you, pounding that sweet pussy of yours into oblivion." I moaned quite loudly at the idea. "Hmmm. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Edward…" I moaned his name this time.

"Yes?" Edward asked with a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Fuck me already," I half demanded, half pleaded.

"With pleasure," Edward said before quickly plunging into me deeply. I screamed at the sensation of him inside of me. He filled me completely, leaving nothing to be desired. Edward set a quick rhythm, pumping in and out of me as our bodies roughly rocked together. "Ungh Bella, you feel so good." The only sounds I could hear were our voices crying out, our skin as it met, our heavy breathing, and my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. Those were the only sounds that mattered.

"Edward, more…"

"God, Bella…"

"Oh, Edward…"

"Bella!" My eyes shot open. That was not Edward's voice.

"Alice! What the fuck are you doing in here!?"

_Seriously, what was with all this cockblocking!?_

"I could be asking you the same thing! I was worried sick all morning after you didn't call me last night! I couldn't even focus in my meeting, so I left early to check on you. Imagine how much I started panicking when I arrived at your apartment, only to hear you moaning like you're in serious pain! I felt absolutely horrible until I heard exactly what you were moaning…and I started wondering if you were in here alone. What exactly happened last night after I left? Oh my God! Did you guys…"

"NO!" I screamed. "Jeez Alice, what kind of a girl do you think I am!?"

"Watch it, missy!"

"Shit, Alice! You know that's not what I meant…"

"Bella, it's fine," she assured me. "I'm not ashamed of jumping Jasper the first time we met. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have been waiting for Jasper my entire life and I wasn't going to waste any more time. I guess I should have explained that to him first, but I thought he would take the whole 'soul mate' news better after a round of mind-blowing sex. I have no regrets regarding Jasper."

I gave Alice all of the juicy details as she listened eagerly.

"Well, I don't need you to explain me what happened in that dream of yours," Alice said smugly. My face fell a little. _It was just a dream_, I thought sadly. _Edward_ _and I were never together like that and_ _I'm still a virgin_… _that's just fucking fantastic!_ Alice noticed the minute change in my mood, of course. "Bella…are you okay? You know I was just kidding around, right?"

"Alice, I'm fine," I assured her. "Don't worry so much… you're gonna give yourself an ulcer, okay? I was just thinking about something." _Or someone…_ "Shit! What time is it?"

"Ummm quarter to ten, why?"

"I have a brunch date with Edward at 11! You need to go so I can get ready."

"Whoa there, Bella! You have a date to get ready for and you're kicking me out?" Alice asked incredulously.

"Basically… yeah. You're likely to get overexcited and I might end up in a cocktail gown to go to Panera!" Alice looked hurt and started pouting at my exclamation. "Al, I really like him. I want to know that he likes me, not just rocker sex-goddess Bella. I need to look… normal." I explained.

Alice released a dramatic sigh. "If I _promise_ not to get carried away and you get final say on everything, could I _please_ stay here and help?" Alice begged with a pathetic pout on her face that I could not say 'no' to.

"Alright, as long as you keep your promise." She just nodded solemnly and marched off into my closet. "Casual!" I reminded her.

Fifty minutes later, Alice was walking me out of my apartment. I emerged in a pair of fold-over yoga pants, a plain v-neck t-shirt, a baggy cardigan and Converse. I had just a little make-up on and my hair was loosely pulled back. We hugged and she sent me on my way.

* * *

**EPOV:**

I arrived at Panera fifteen minutes early because I wanted to make sure that I snagged those comfy chairs by the fireplace. _Ok, so maybe I just wanted to see Bella again… but those chairs are pretty fucking awesome!_ I took a sip out of the cup of coffee I ordered when I walked in. I felt a little rude for starting without Bella, but I wanted to be fully awake when she arrived.

I hadn't stopped thinking about Bella from the moment she left me last night, which, in retrospect, is probably why I had gotten so little sleep. Memories of Bella flooded my head. The warmth in her eyes. Her smile. The way her face flushed with embarrassment. How she danced close to me. The sound of her giggle when I held her on my lap. Her scent… I could practically smell the luscious strawberry ice cream mixing with the aroma of my coffee. I closed my eyes and let the smell take me back to last night when Bella was pressed against me. _Fuck! I did not need to be sporting a hard-on in the middle of a coffee shop!_ I lowered my head into my hands and try to calm myself with deep breathing.

"Are you okay?" A beautiful voice asked me.

I had been so caught up in reliving my memories of Bella that I hadn't even noticed that someone was standing in front of me. And it was Bella… _of course_. She looked different from last night, but still good. _Really_ good. Today her hair was pulled back and she was wearing very light makeup, if any.

"Hi Bella," I said as I stood up to greet her. "I'm fine, thanks. I just had a little… headache."

"Good. Shall we?" Bella asked, gesturing towards the counter.

"Sure," I said, motioning for her to go first. "I hope you don't mind I grabbed a coffee when I first got here."

"Of course not! I hope I didn't keep you waiting…"

"No!" I yelled, cutting her off. "I got here early because my apartment is just a couple blocks from here," I assured her.

"Oh, okay," Bella said, looking shy all of a sudden. _Gee, I guess that has to do with the fact that you just yelled at her!_

We took turns ordering and brought our meals back to the chairs by the fireplace. It was nice talking with Bella and getting to know her better. After about 45 minutes and several cups of coffee, we somehow ended up back at the topic of my piano playing.

"Would you mind playing for me some time?" Bella asked, shy again.

"How about this afternoon? I have my own piano at the apartment. That is, if you don't have something to do after brunch…" I hedged.

"Really!?"

"Yes, really," I teased. "So does that mean you'd like to come?"

"Mmhmmm," Bella replied, nodding enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's go then," I told her, standing up and reaching for her hand.

* * *

After a very short walk Bella and I arrived at my apartment, still hand in hand.

"Wow. _This_ is your place?" I nodded. "Edward, it's… amazing!" She exclaimed, dropping my hand and looking around.

"Thanks. Tanya did the decorating," I admitted. "Would you like a tour?"

"Yes, please," Bella responded with a brilliant smile. I was ecstatic when she reaching for my hand again.

"Ok so as you can see, this is the living room and that over there is the kitchen. Down the hall are the bed rooms and the guest bathroom."

"Where's your piano?" She asked, looking around the main living area.

"It's in my room." _Shit. I definitely didn't think it over before I invited her to my apartment to watch me play. Now she's gonna think that I only want to drag her into my den of sin…_

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Bella asked with another smile, cutting off my internal conflict. I tugged on her hand gently, leading her down the hall.

"Yeah… so this is my room," I said as I slowly opened my door. I can't remember a time when I was more thankful to have made my bed. Seeing as how it's something I normally never do, my subconscious must have been thinking about getting Bella alone in my room and… _Enough!_

The last thing I needed right now was a fantasy of Bella on my bed with her legs spread for me. I shook my head infinitesimally, trying to rid myself of those temptingly distracting images. "Nothing special apart from the piano. Just a bed and some dressers," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Edward, it's _huge_!" Bella shouted. (_Cue 'that's what she said' joke._) "Everything in here is beautiful…"

"Thanks, it's the only room Tanya let me decorate," I admitted sheepishly. It was pretty damn embarrassing for a grown man not to have any say in what goes into his living space. It made me indescribably happy that Bella liked what I had done with my room.

"Well you did a great job."

"Would you still like me to play for you?"

"Yes, please!"

"Okay, have a seat," I said, patting the spot next to me as I took a seat on the piano bench. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to request?"

"Nope. I just want to watch you play. Anything you'd like is fine."

I placed my fingers gently on top of the familiar ivory keys and began to stroke the familiar tune of Yiruma's "River Flows in You." I knew the piece by heart. I closed my eyes and allowed my head to be almost consumed by the music. I say _almost_ because it was impossible for me to ignore Bella's proximity. I could feel the heat radiating off her small frame and the smell of her had my mouth watering. I kept my eyes tightly closed until the song was finished, only then allowing myself to look at Bella's reaction.

I turn my head to find that she was much closer than I remembered. Bella just sat there with her eyes wide and her mouth open. I wasn't sure if the fact that she hadn't said anything yet was good or bad, but just as I was about to ask her, she lunged at me. I was so shocked by her actions that for a few milliseconds I just sat there, unresponsive to her assault on my mouth. Fortunately, my body reacted much faster than my brain and my hands reached around Bella and brought her onto my lap. I had to have to closer to me in any way possible.

Our kisses quickly became more heated and my hips started pushing against Bella's from the passion flowing between us. With her mouth still attached to mine she began uttering the most delectable mewling sounds as she squirmed against my clothed erection. I kept pushing into her until I could feel that her body could move no further. _Right. There was a piano behind her_. Although Bella wasn't complaining, this position was probably hurting her back. Wanting her to enjoy this every bit as much as I was, I slid my hands from her lower back to her ass and picked her up as I stood. I didn't want to break this kiss for anything in the world.

Carefully I walked across the room over to my bed, sitting down on the edge when I reached it. I could have gone over to sit on the loveseat by the window, but hey, I was thinking of Bella's comfort here! I felt Bella's tiny hands unlock themselves from the back of my head and move slowly down to my chest, where she gave a little shove. Anything she wanted, I was more than happy to comply to. She broke the kiss momentarily to pull off her sweater and throw it to the side. I leaned back until I was laying down and Bella repositioned her body so that she was once again straddling my throbbing cock. She wiggled her hips on top of me and a mischievous grin played across her lips. I couldn't take it anymore. I quickly flipped us over so that I could take charge of this situation. As soon as I was on top my mouth moved to Bella's neck and softly began to suck on the skin there. I was rewarded with a loud moan in my ear.

"Bella? I just wanted you to know that I didn't plan on this happening when I invited you over here," I explained to her adamantly.

"I know you didn't, Edward, but I did," she whispered before gently sucking my earlobe into her mouth.

* * *

**A/N: **

**I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter done…I keep getting stuck in some places or distracted. I just want to thank everyone for all of their reviews and support, it means the world to me. Please, keep it up ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own jack shit except for the plot. Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

_

* * *

_"_Bella? I just wanted you to know that I didn't plan on this happening when I invited you over here," I explained to her adamantly._

"_I know you didn't, Edward, but I did," she whispered before gently sucking my earlobe into her mouth._

_

* * *

_

**BPOV:**

And it was true. The second he invited me over to his apartment I jumped at the opportunity to make some small part of my dream a reality. The fact that he kept his piano in his bedroom just made it too easy. Seeing the emotion and conviction he had while playing was too much; I lost it. The song he played was beautiful and I was speechless. So I decided to occupy my mouth another way: by latching it onto his.

I couldn't think of a single place I would rather be than on Edward's bed with him on top of me. _Okay, well maybe one… __**my**__ bed._ That would really make my dream come to life.

I didn't appreciate the fact that Edward was using his arms to support his weight as he sucked on my neck. He was already nestled between my legs; all I had to do was wrap them around his waist to drag his body down to mine. _Much better_, I thought smugly and grabbed a tuft of his hair so I could kiss his lips again.

"Mmmm," I moaned in contentment as Edward ground himself into my center. Our kiss became more desperate as I eased my tongue between his lips and started ravaging his mouth. Edward's hands had been gripped tightly around my hips, but they began wandering under the hem of my large t-shirt. The size of my shirt permitted Edward free range of my skin underneath, but his shirt allowed my hands no such luxury.

_Stupid clothes._

I gently raked my fingernails up and down Edward's sides. It wasn't fair; I wanted to touch him, too! Thankfully, he got the message and dragged the shirt up over his chest and, it too, was thrown aside. My mouth hungrily sucked on his lips and tongue. My hands greedily roamed over the newly uncovered expanse of skin. My hips pressed rhythmically into his groin in their search for friction.

I angled my upper body off of the bed so that Edward could slip my shirt over my head. His bare chest was hot against mine, nothing between them but my bra. This morning I had wistfully decided to wear a matching lavender lace bra and panty set under my casual outfit. I couldn't help but hold onto a sliver of hope after the dream I had. _Luck was finally on my side_. The thin lace rubbed sinfully against my taut nipples as Edward moved carefully on top of me.

"Edward…" I moaned as he placed scorching kisses down the column of my throat.

"Edward?" I heard a door close heavily.

_SHIT MOTHER FUCKER FUCK SHIT!_

"Oh no! Please tell me that this is not happening…" Edward whined in exasperation.

"I wish I could," I said before placing a chaste kiss on Edward's cheek. I gently pushed against his chest so we could both sit up. As much as I regretted the thought of having to put our clothes back on, I knew that our current state of undress wouldn't help soothe the awkwardness of the impending introduction.

Edward reluctantly moved off of me and started reaching for our shirts. He handed me my t-shirt and sweater and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him.

"I'm really sorry," Edward whispered in apology. "I'll be right there!" he shouted out to his sister and yanked his shirt back on.

"Here goes nothing," I mumbled after hastily pulling my sweater on over my t-shirt. Luckily, my hair was pulled back so makeout hair wasn't really an issue. Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently in reassurance before guiding me into the hallway.

I wasn't as afraid of Tanya as much as I was afraid of Tanya not liking me. Despite her extremely intrusive behavior, she and Edward seemed really close. Would he listen to her if she said that I wasn't good enough for him? Edward had seemed very heartfelt when he said that he liked me, but surely that couldn't stand up in the face of his sister's disapproval. I had been dragging my feet down the hall and I'm sure Edward noticed my hesitation.

"Bella, are you sure you're alright with this? You don't have to meet Tanya if you're not ready. I could always try to sneak you out without her seeing," Edward suggested with a smirk, but his features swiftly became serious again. "I know this is moving pretty fast. It's just that Tanya's important to me and… now you are, too."

_Shit. When he puts it like __**that**__, how can I resist?_

"Okay," I conceded quietly. I allowed Edward to lead me into the main living area, where I could see Tanya in the kitchen.

"Tanya," Edward said loud enough to get his sister's attention. "I'd like you to meet Bella." He introduced me once she turned around to face us.

"Hello, Bella," Tanya greeted me warmly. Her eyes flickered between Edward and me and realization dawned across her beautiful face. I absently wondered if she recognized me as being the girl from last night or if our clothes just looked a mess. "Oh! Crap… I am so sorry! For everything. Edward, you were right. I had no right to show up at Lunar Eclipse last night. Bella, I'm really sorry to have caused any discomfort between the two of you. And shit, now I'm interrupting your alone time… you know what? I'm just gonna go back out. I'll call Nate and see if he can meet up for lunch or something."

Now I felt bad. Tanya seemed genuinely remorseful and I could tell that making Edward upset made her feel horrible. I didn't want her to feel like she had to leave on my behalf. _This was her apartment for fuck's sake! _I looked up at Edward's face to see his reaction. His face was calm, as if he would go along with anything I was comfortable with.

"Tanya, please don't leave because of me," I implored her. I didn't know what else to say.

"I have an idea. How about you invite Nathan over here for dinner and we can all hang out?" Edward suggested. "That is, of course, as long as you don't mind staying, Bella."

"That sounds wonderful," I replied enthusiastically. "May I ask what we're gonna be having?" I winced inwardly. I always felt bad when someone prepared a meal for me that I couldn't eat. I felt like such an imposition to my host with my "special dietary needs" as Alice has taken to calling them.

"I didn't have anything specific in mind. We can have anything you'd like."

"I'm not picky. It's just that, well… I'm a vegetarian." People usually think that means you're high-maintenance, but I'm not! I just don't like eating meat. I still ate dairy and seafood. However, I think the concept of being a pescatarian is a little too farfetched for most people to grasp, so I don't bring that up right away.

"How does baked ziti sound?" Tanya asked.

"It sounds delicious! But you have to let me help, okay?"

"Deal! This means we need to go food shopping. I'm just gonna call Nate and then we can go!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**Once again, thanks to everyone who is reading along and/or reviewing. Please keep it up! I love it when you guys comment on the characters or the plot or guess what's going to happen next :]] This chapter was pretty short, but I just wanted to get back into the habit of pumping out a chapter every other day or so**

**- Fairest of Them All**


	16. Chapter 16

**Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own jack shit except for the plot. Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

* * *

**EPOV:**

Normally I avoided bringing Tanya with me to the food store. She was utterly incapable of just sticking to the things on the grocery list. The last time I had her with me to pick up milk and some bread we ended up spending $75 on miscellaneous things that Tanya claimed she could not live without. You know, basics like: animal shaped fly-swatters, Fruit Gushers, and Organic Batter Blaster (**A/N: this actually exists, it is pancake batter in an aerosol can and probably the coolest food innovation I've seen in a while**). Nate has told me similar horror stories. Once, Tanya wandered off when they were shopping and he found her with a cart full of pink food. After that, he started ordering food online without her help.

The food usually gets sent here, anyway. I'm sure they would have moved in together a long time ago, but Nate's job is on the other side of the city from out apartment and although Tanya won't say it, she's afraid to move out and leave me on my own. _Typical Tanya_. I've told her that I'd be totally fine if she moved in with Nate, but she thinks I'm just trying to act strong for her or something.

_Whatever_. Back to the task at hand: food shopping.

Food shopping with Bella as additional company was much more pleasurable. Once I told her what we would be making she immediately started focusing on the ingredients we would need. Bella was a woman on a mission. I followed behind her with the cart dutifully and was rewarded with a spectacular view of her ass.

It really was a shame that Tanya had to come home when she did. I wish I had a mental image of what Bella was wearing under those tight pants.

We were just about done picking out the ingredients and we were currently in the dairy section. Bella and I had left Tanya with her face practically pressed against the glass of the lobster tank.

"Hey Bella, is there anything in particular you want for desert?" _I sure as hell knew what I wanted and it wasn't anything you would find on the food pyramid._

"Ummm, how do chocolate chip cookies sound?" she asked, holding up a roll of slice-and-bake cookies.

"Perfect."

* * *

The rest of our shopping adventure continued without a hitch. Even at the checkout line Tanya only got two tabloid magazines. Believe me, that's a serious display of self-restraint for her. After checking out we walked through the crisp New York evening back to the apartment, bags in hand.

Nate greeted us at the door and helped with the bags of food. The introductions were short, seeing as only Bella and Nate were unacquainted.

It was always interesting to watch people's reactions when meeting Nate. He and my sister were so different it was almost laughable. Tanya is all light hair, light skin, light eyes and very bubbly. On the complete other end of the spectrum, Nate has black hair, tanned skin, dark eyes and he can be unnaturally quiet.

As was becoming normal in the short time we've known each other, I was completely relaxed being with Bella. Well, as relaxed as is possibly with our tangible sexual tension. The four of us fell into an easy flow in the kitchen preparing dinner. Bella and I worked on mixing together the ingredients for baked ziti, Tanya worked on making a salad and Nate took care of the garlic bread. We ended up joking around and making a bit of a mess. By the time dinner was ready everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves.

For a few minutes we ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying the meal that we had put together. That is, until Tanya asked Bella to tell us about herself. I will never admit that I was actually grateful to her. Bella and I had only touched on inconsequential subjects during our discussions today. I was more focused on learning about her personality than her past.

"So, Bella… why don't you tell us a little about yourself? I'm curious to know more about the girl that has little Eddie smitten." I shot Tanya a death glare as a warning. I was not going to allow her to make Bella feel uncomfortable. She had been well-behaved up until this point, but I wasn't gonna take any chances. "Don't look at me like that. It's true!" Tanya said in response to my glare. I peeked at Bella to my left who was blushing, but decided to answer nonetheless.

"Alright, but I'm gonna try to get this done in one shot…" I nodded, betraying my interest, to encourage her to continue. "I'm 22. I grew up in a small town in upstate New York. I moved to the city to attend NYU. I graduated last spring. I have my own apartment. I am currently working at the Museum of Natural History as an assistant museum technician. I plan on attending graduate school in the fall. Oh, and my two best friends are Alice and Rosalie."

"That is very impressive, Bella! Since you were kind enough to share, I'll give you Edward and my combined histories. I'm 26 and he's 24. We grew up in Chicago and both attended Northwestern University. We moved to NYC after Edward graduated and obviously we share an apartment. Nate and I have been together for almost two years. I work as a real estate agent and Edward here works at the NY Daily News, but I'll let him tell you more about that."

I could have interrupted Tanya while she was sharing our entire life stories, but I liked watching her and Bella interact comfortably. The two of them fell into an effortless conversation that they both seemed to genuinely be enjoying. I was pleasantly surprised by this.

I love Tanya because I have to, but for most people, especially women, it never seemed easy. She was independent and slightly pig-headed, but also fiercely protective and caring.

It made me really happy to see them getting along.

I wanted to keep Bella around. After knowing her for less than 24 hours I had already fallen for her.

_Who am I kidding? I fell for her the second she fell into my arms_.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'm sorry this chapter is pretty short and seemingly took me forever to finish. If I could get 15 reviews for this measly little chapter of mine, I just might be inspired into a writing frenzy and pop out the next chapter that much faster. What do you say, readers? I'll gladly take any questions, comments and critiques you have for me :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sadly, I still don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

* * *

**Previously:**

_I wanted to keep Bella around. After knowing her for less than 24 hours I had already fallen for her. _

_Who am I kidding? I fell for her the second she fell into my arms. _

**

* * *

**

**EPOV:**

Now that we were all done eating, I rose without disrupting the girls' conversation and began clearing the table. I grabbed as many plates as I could and brought them into the kitchen.

Thanks to the open plan of our apartment, I could still hear Tanya and Bella talking. It sounded like they were sharing recipes. Right now they were discussing a fruit tart that Bella had made for Rosalie's birthday last year. It sounded really good. _Maybe Bella would make it for desert some time…_

_Hmm desert… cookies!_

Remembering the slice-and-bake cookies for tonight I put the dishes down on the counter next to the sink and walked over to the refrigerator. I reached in and grabbed the roll of cookie dough from the shelf. Rolling it over in my hands I looked for the instructions so I could see what temperature to preheat the oven to. _The sooner it gets heated up, the sooner I get my cookies!_

Once I had set the oven to bake at 400 degrees, I walked back over to the sink to clean off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I was almost done with the plates in front of me when Nate walked in with the rest of the stuff from the table. He put everything down on the counter and I noticed him eyeing me nervously as he replaced things in the fridge.

"Is everything alright, man?" I asked. He was looking pretty uncomfortable about something.

"Yeah… I uh kinda wanted to ask you something…" he began awkwardly. It wasn't like Nate to act all skittish like this. Something was definitely up.

"Sure, Nate. Spit it out," I encouraged him. I wanted him to know he had my full attention, so I put down the glass in my hand and turned to face him.

Just as he was about to begin, he started looking around me to check the dining area. The girls weren't there. Tanya and Bella had moved their discussion into the living room.

I was even more surprised to realize that Nate was checking to make sure they were out of ear-shot. He and Tanya never kept anything from one another. _Weird._

"I want to ask Tanya to marry me. What do you think?" _Whoa_. You gotta love Nate. The man does not beat around the bush.

"Wow dude, I gotta say I thought you were about to admit to murder the way you were acting. You know you don't have to ask me permission, right? I wouldn't be the one marrying you," I joked.

"I know. I wasn't looking for permission so much as your support. I think Tanya will say yes, but I wouldn't want to bring your family's displeasure upon your sister if you or your parents disapprove of me. That wouldn't be unfair to her," he said very seriously.

"Just answer me one question, Nate: Do you love my sister?" I asked, trying to keep my face composed.

"More than anything," he answered without hesitation.

"Then everything will be fine," I assured him and allowed the smile to takeover my face.

"Ok, so how should I go about this? I've never proposed before. Should I ask your parents for her hand or something?"

"No!" I yelled quietly. I saw the look of disappointment on his face and quickly amended my statement. "It's not that my parents would ever refuse you, but I think Tanya might kill you if you ask anyone apart from her. Besides, you know her. She's never been one for parental consent anyway." We both laughed at that. Tanya lived by the saying "it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission."  
"You're right, I'm just nervous. I love her, ya know?" I nodded and observed how the look in his eye went from thoughtful to calculating. "So what's going on with you and Bella?" I looked at him reluctantly.

_I could tell him, right? He was a man in love; surely he could explain some of the things I was feeling. _

Nate was the closest thing I had to a guy friend before I met Jasper and Emmett. But he doesn't even really count because he was only around here so much because of my sister. Still, I feel comfortable talking to him about almost anything. Almost like he was my brother.

"C'mon, Edward! You gotta give me something," Nate complained.

"Alright! Alright! I swear you're just as bad as Tanya sometimes!"

"Whatever, man. Let's have it," he prodded.

"Okay, well she's friends with Jasper and Emmett's girlfriends. She's smart and funny and beautiful… but I guess you can see that for yourself."

"And you love her," Nate stated without hesitation.

"_WHAT!?_"

"Hey, keep it down! Unless you want the ladies to join our chat…"

"Nate, I met her _last night_! She was at the show and then we all went dancing. This is only the second time I've hung out with her," I explained.

"Yeah and then you brought her back to your place and had dinner with your sister. That's pretty serious. Not only is she dealing with Tanya, but she seems to be enjoying her company. We both know that's a first."

"I can't deny that she's special, but it's too soon. Something like that can't possibly happen overnight. She's not even my girlfriend yet!" _Yet_.

"If you say so… I'm just sharing my observations. And don't say 'she's not even my girlfriend' like you can't do anything about it."

"Okay, you're right. How about we go back in there?"

* * *

**BPOV:**

Talking with Tanya was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, though. All Edward had told me was that she was really nosy and protective of him. That much was obvious from the start.

What I hadn't been expecting was that Tanya was almost the perfect combination of Alice and Rosalie. She was bubbly and random, just like Alice, but at the same time she could turn up the ferocity in an instant. These similarities made it a lot easier for me to relax around Tanya. We talked about meaningless things like our favorite nail polish colors and which celebrities we had crushes on growing up.

I could feel the atmosphere of our conversation shift when we moved into the living area, but Tanya's next question still blindsided me.

"Bella, what are your intentions with my brother?"

"Excuse me?" Like I said: completely blindsided me.

"Listen, I can tell that you're a nice girl and not some freaky groupie type, but this is my baby brother we're talking about here. I saw you two making eyes at each other and I can tell this is more than a fling. Let me explain something to you: Edward never does anything half ass. When he commits to something, he gives it everything he's got. With that said… you better not break my brother's heart!" She warned me.

"Wow. Um, I know that he and I only met last night, but I can promise you that I would never try to hurt Edward intentionally. When I'm with him I feel… wonderful. I don't think I can explain it properly."

"Don't worry, I believe you," Tanya stated confidently. "Would you like to stay and watch a movie?" She asked, completely switching gears. "It'll give us time to bake and eat the cookies."

"Oh, the cookies!" I remembered, jumping off the couch.

"Will you stay? Please! You can even pick out the movie," Tanya promised just as Edward and Nate walked in.

"Alright, but first we have to take care of the cookies," I replied.

"Not to worry. I already preheated the oven. All we have to do is slice the cookies and put them in," Edward assured me with a smile. "I was going to ask if you'd like to watch a movie with us, but it seems _Tanya_ has already beaten me to it. Let's pick something out," Edward said as he took my hand and gently tugged me over to their extensive movie collection.

They had everything from romantic comedies to slasher flicks all categorized by genre. I scanned through the rows, not quite sure what I was looking for. I saw that they owned some of my favorites, but I didn't want to subject Edward to _Dirty Dancing _or_ Mean Girls_. I wanted to watch something that everyone would enjoy. I kept on with my search until I found it: the perfect movie.

_Mr. & Mrs. Smith_. It had it had some action, adventure and romance. (_Not to mention that smoking' hott angry sex scene after they practically demolish their house._) The guys would get to stare at Angelina Jolie and Tanya and I got to ogle Brad Pitt. It was a win/win situation.

"Found it!" I said triumphantly just as the oven chimed to indicate it was ready.

"Tanya or Nate, could one of you put the movie in? I'm just gonna take care of the cookies quickly," Edward said, heading towards the kitchen.

"Let me help you," I offered.

Edward reached into the fridge and pulled out the roll of cookie dough. He took out a baking sheet and pointed to where I could find a cutting board and a knife. Using the knife I found, I carefully cut through off the end and sliced through the wrapper. Edward placed each slice I cut onto the baking sheet in neat rows. When we finished up quickly and placed the cookies in the oven, setting the timer for ten minutes. I turned back to the cutting board. My favorite part of slice and bake cookies was eating the extra dough stuck in the end of the roll.

I stuck my index finger into the wrapper and scooped out the leftover dough. I took a smile bite off of my finger and smiled while I enjoyed my spoils. As I was bringing my finger up to my mouth a second time, Edward caught my wrist and stopped me.

"Hey!" I protested as I tried to free my hand, but Edward just smirked.

With very little effort he brought my hand up to his mouth and wrapped his lips around my finger. I stopped resisting and watched him as he carefully licked off the remained dough. Considering how it feels when Edward's mouth is on mine, I shouldn't have been surprised how good it felt as he started sucking on my finger. Everything around me just melted away as Edward made sure he got every drop of dough.

"Mmmm yummy," he said playfully.

As amused as I was by Edward thinking I was finger licking' good, I pouted because now I would have to wait almost ten minutes for more cookie dough. I watched as his eyes drifted to my mouth. Edward's arms had me pinned between his body and the kitchen island as he leaned down and nipped at my pouting lip. He pulled back slowly to look at my now smiling face. I pushed myself up onto my toes so that I could reach for another kiss. I started off with small, soft kisses that gradually increased in pressure. I was becoming more enthusiastic with each kiss and Edward was responding in kind. I tilted my head and lightly swept my tongue across his lower lip, asking him to open up to me. For the next few minutes I experienced the taste of cookie dough mixed with Edward. It was wickedly delicious.

"Yummy," I repeated as we broke out kiss at the sound of the oven timer going off.

Edward pulled the cookies out of the oven and slid them off the sheet to cool. As we waited, I took the milk out of the fridge and we filled four glasses to bring in with the cookies. Once they were sufficiently cool we piled them onto a plate and brought the dessert to the living area on a tray. Edward set the tray down on the coffee table in the living area and led me over to the couch. Tanya and Nate were already curled up on the love seat waiting for us to start the movie. Edward grabbed two cookies before he sat down by the arm of the couch and pulled me down so that I was curled into his side.

I took my cookie from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as thanks. We all turned out attention to the movie and ate our cookies in silence. I couldn't help but think how much better the cookie dough had tasted from Edward's mouth, but now was not the time to test that theory.

Every now and then I would steal glances at Edward who would coincidentally be peeking at me as well. Each time I caught him looking at me I would stick my tongue out and turn back to the television and each time it got a little harder to look away.

Eventually I just stopped watching the movie and turned my head into Edward's side. I've seen the movie before and needless to say that being this close to him was of a lot more interest to me.

I started occupying myself my running my nails lightly across his stomach. Until I heard the low humming in his chest I wasn't even sure if he had noticed. He had his eyes closed and his head lulled back against the couch. I was content to just watch him until the movie ended and I knew I should go home.

Tanya and I traded cell phone numbers and I promised that I would call her soon. Edward offered to make sure I got home, but I didn't want him to pay for unnecessary cab fare. I left his apartment with a chaste kiss and a promise of letting him know I got home safely.

**

* * *

****A/N:**

**So I tried really hard to make this chapter longer. Please review and let me know what you think! I'm really excited about reaching 180 reviews, let's shoot for 200 this time :)**


	18. Chapter 17 and a half

****

Sadly, I still don't own Twilight or any of its characters.

**Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

* * *

**Previously:**

_Tanya and I traded cell phone numbers and I promised that I would call her soon. Edward offered to make sure I got home, but I didn't want him to pay for unnecessary cab fare. I left his apartment with a chaste kiss and a promise of letting him know I got home safely._

* * *

**BPOV:**

Thankfully the taxi ride passed quickly. I was lost in my thoughts on the ride home and I barely remember paying the cab driver and entering my apartment.

My evening at Edward's apartment had been amazing. It just felt natural hanging out with them. When it dawned on me that I might not get the opportunity to repeat the experience, I was saddened. I didn't have any real reason to hang out at Edward's place. I had no claim to him.

We were friends… I think. Friends that have made out a few times. This definition, however, was not to my satisfaction. I knew with the utmost certainty that the things I felt about Edward were definitely not _platonic_.

Every time he touched me I just want to…. fucking jump him. Or just fuck him. _Whatever_.

No one had ever elicited this type of reaction from me before. I was beginning to worry that I was a-sexual or something…

I mean, sure, I've been attracted to guys before, but never really, _really_ attracted.

Isabella Swan is not used to thinking about a man's body like that.

It's not like I'm a prude or anything. I just never really think of painfully attractive men doing _that_ to _me_. And I've definitely never been more excited at the thought.

I've had more than a handful of makeout sessions with some moderate petting going on, but it was usually just the guy getting off on squeezing a boob every now and then. I didn't even really enjoy it. I was _bored_. How fucked up is that?

Edward has made me more excited in the past two days by just looking at me than any other "man" has by touching me.

So to summarize my history of short-lived relationships, losers, and lack of enthusiasm:

I'm not a virgin because I never wanted to have sex before. I'm a virgin because I haven't met anyone that I'd want to have sex with.

_Until now._

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, so this isn't really a chapter. It's more like a snippet of what Bella is thinking about when she gets home after her day with Edward. I apologize that it's so short, but I'm back at school now and classes started today so I need to shift my school work to the top of my priorities for now. I'm gonna try to update at least twice a week until I get back into the swing of things. Of course there will be exceptions to that rule; sometimes more, sometimes less.**

**I wanted to also make sure to thank all my readers and reviewers (and most importantly my Wallcitas). You guys are amazing and it really makes my day to find your reviews in my inbox. Don't feel like you have to review this "chapter." I'll try to get a proper one out soon :)**


	19. Chapter 18

**Sadly, I still don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

**EPOV:**

It's been a week since I last saw Bella and I've missed the shit out of her. I can't complain too much because I had told her not to come see me.

Monday night neither Tanya nor I were in the mood to cook so we decided to just grab something to eat at a fast food restaurant. Right before we ordered, Tanya suggested that I try a veggie burger to see if I like it. Being the infatuated fool that I am, I decided to go for it. _If Bella could eat those things, why couldn't I?_

Horrible idea.

I ended up with a wicked case of food poisoning and it took me three days to regain enough strength to return from the dead. During that time, I basically had to forbid Bella from coming to visit me. No matter how appealing the idea of her nursing me back to health was, I didn't think my manly pride could deal with her seeing me so weak and pathetic.

When most of the color returned to my face, I decided it was time to man-up and let Bella see me. And wouldn't it be just my luck that when I called to ask Bella to come over, she told me that her job required her to go on a retreat Thursday and Friday.

Fuck. My. Life.

It was really pathetic how much I missed her already. We've talked every day, but phone calls and text messages had nothing on actually being with Bella.

**BPOV:**

Not only did my week accomplish killing me slowly and painfully by way of boredom, but it also made me realize the extent of my crush/obsession with Edward. I was aching to see him again. I would have gladly risked getting sick for an opportunity to see Edward, but he explicitly forbade me to come see him.

I'll admit that I was beginning to worry that he was trying to blow me off or something. With that being said, I felt like a complete idiot when I found a single sunflower on my desk at work on Friday during the second day of my retreat. Attached was a note that read: "I miss you. –E" Of their own accord, my hands reached for my cell and dialed his now familiar number.

"Bella?"

"Hey. I just got your flower. Aren't I supposed to be getting you flowers or something? You were the sick one."

I heard him chuckle on the other line. "I guess, but I just wanted to do something for you. Do you like it?"

"Very much, thank you."

"Good. So are you free this weekend or is the museum keeping you hostage again?"

"Yep. I actually get to leave in a couple of hours. Would you like to get together for dinner or is that too short notice?"

"Not at all, that sounds great!"

"Okay, what do you feel like having?"

"I don't care. Actually… anything but veggie burgers would be awesome."

"I think we can manage around that request." I offered with a giggle. A _giggle_. God, I hate myself sometimes!

"Would you like to come over here again? I think Tanya is going out to dinner with Nate tonight so it wouldn't be as much of an ordeal as last time…"

"Sure, whatever is fine. I just wanna see you again!" I blurted out.

"Trust me, I know how you feel. I miss your face."

"Just my face, Edward?" I teased.

"Definitely not just your face, Bella, but let's not argue semantics here." I was pleased to note that he sounded a bit flustered.

"Alright, when do you want me?"

He growled in response.

"Semantics, Bella."

"Okay, fine!" I rephrased my question. "When should I come over tonight?"

"Is five o'clock too soon?"

"No, five sounds perfect. That'll give me enough time to swing by my apartment and change first. Care to be more specific than 'no veggie burgers'?"

"How does ordering pizza sound to you?"

"It sounds wonderful! Are you sure you don't need me to bring anything?"

"Positive. Just bring your cute ass self." He was absolutely oozing charm through my cell phone's earpiece.

"Okay, see you at five then, Edward. Bye."

"Until five, Bella." Edward replied right before I heard him end the call.

I still had some work to get done before the day ended and I easily passed the time until I got to go home. I left work at four and made it home with plenty of time to shower before heading over to see Edward. Once I was clean I just threw on some jeans with a green v-neck shirt and pulled my still-wet hair up into a messy bun. I was ready to go after I swiped on some mascara and quickly headed out at quarter to five. My trip there didn't take very long as I was so excited to see Edward again that I moved at quite a brisk pace.

I was still busy entertaining thoughts of Edward, as I had become prone to do in his absence, even as my knuckles rapped against his door. My body had obviously chosen to act while my mind was otherwise occupied. Mercifully, Edward didn't keep me waiting. I just finished knocking when I heard the locks being worked open and he was before me again. Nothing could have stopped the smile from spreading across my face and the heat across my body at the sight of him.

It was 4:57 and Edward was fresh from the shower. Not like in the way where his hair was still a little wet, but in the way that he had just thrown on a pair of jeans to answer the door and he still had rivulets of water languidly making their way down his bare torso kind of way. And boy was I all types of happy to see him.

**Author's Note:**

**I'm REALLY sorry that it's taken for-fucking-ever for me to post this. I've just been so busy and lacking in motivation to write that it's been torture trying to pop this chapter out. Thanks to anyone that's still following!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Sadly, I still don't own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Please review after reading :)**

_Rock and Roll All Night_

_It was 4:57 and Edward was fresh from the shower. Not like in the way where his hair was still a little wet, but in the way that he had just thrown on a pair of jeans to answer the door and he still had rivulets of water languidly making their way down his bare torso kind of way. And boy was I all types of happy to see him._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**BPOV:**

_Please don't be drooling!_ _Please don't be drooling!_

Blatant ogling I can deal with, but I would never live down a trail of spittle.

My eyes took their time as they disengaged from the drops of water and made their way back up to Edward's face. It was currently lit with a smile that traveled all the way up to his eyes.

"Hi, Bella," he greeted me and his smile grew just a bit wider. "My face is up here."

_Jerk._

"Yes, Edward. I know. How are you feeling?"

"Much better thank you," he gestured for me to come in and shut the door behind me. "But I can think of one thing that would make me feel even better."

_I can think of more than one thing, Edward._

"And what is that?"

"A hug from a beautiful lady," he finished the compliment with another winning smile.

"I think that can be arranged," I said, walking towards him as he opened his arms to embrace me. I let out a soft sigh at how nice it felt to be this close to him again.

"I missed you," Edward whispered into my hair, running a hand slowly up and down my back.

I closed my eyes and smiled against his chest. "Me too."

The week had been painstakingly long for me. It was nice being able to keep in touch with Edward through calls and texts, but it wasn't nearly enough. The entire time we were apart I just longed to see him and touch him like I was now.

I opened my eyes and watched Edward's nipples harden as my breath washed over his chest.

_Hmm. Glad to see I'm not the only one enjoying this_,I thought smugly.

I started nuzzling my cheek against the downy hairs on Edward's chest. By now the remaining drops of water had dried and all that remained of his earlier shower was the warm, clean scent of his soap. I loved that clean man smell and the scent of Edward was no exception.

"You smell really good, Edward."

Aforementioned sexy smelling man hummed against the top of my head as I took my time skimming my nose in light patterns on his skin. Edward's nipples were still reacting to my proximity and I couldn't seem to stop my mind from wondering just how responsive they might be.

Lines. Circles. Figure-eights. Each brought me closer to one of his nipples before I would slowly retreat. With each pass I moved a tiny bit closer to my destination. My hands caressed his back much like he did to mine, but my intention was to arouse rather than soothe.

Fucking finally I gathered the courage to press my lips against the tawny pink skin of his nipple. Edward made some unintelligible noise from deep within his chest and I took that as encouragement to continue.

Feeling slightly braver, my tongue peeked out from behind my lips for a tentative lick of his soft skin.

That unintelligible noise quickly turned into a growl and I found myself being gently backed up against Edward's front door. He placed a leg between mine and put his hands on either side of my head. I was completely ensconced in Edward. He held my gaze for a few moments before speaking, almost as if he were searching for something.

"What do you think you're doing, Bella?" Edward asked, still watching me carefully. His breathing was slightly labored.

"Well, I thought that was quite obvious," I began before wetting my lips and continuing. "I wanted to see if you tasted as good as you smell," I answered as though it was quite simple... which it was. I wanted a taste. His nipple was right there taunting me.

_Elementary reasoning, really._

"And what's the verdict?" Edward asked, cocking his head slightly to the right.

I stood on my toes so I could more easily whisper in the ear he had most graciously offered me.

"You taste even better. So much better," I said decidedly, punctuating my response with a brush of my lips across his cheek.

As he groaned my name Edward easily turned his head to face me full-on and captured my lips with his. And believe me, they went along willingly.

My hands continued to stroke and entice Edward's back as his hands took a gentle hold of my face. He softly guided my head to a different angle at which he could better access my mouth. Each kiss was different. Passionate. Chaste. Teasing. Wanton. Savoring. They were everything I needed after being away from Edward.

Our kisses slowly faded to pecks and I rested my head on the door behind me.

"Hi," I greeted Edward again, smiling brightly.

He responded with another 'hi' of his own as he took of my hands and guided me out of the entry way and into the apartment.

"Would you like something to drink while we wait for the pizza?" Edward asked, gesturing to several unopened wine bottles on the kitchen island. "I wasn't sure what you liked to drink, so I brought out a few options. I have soda or juice too, if that's what you want… and water of course. I preheated the oven before I jumped in the shower just in case it needed to be warmed up, so all that's left to do is relax and wait..."

At this point Edward was rambling a little and it was adorable to watch. Halfway through his beverage speech he stretched an arm behind his head to scratch the back of his head. His head was tilted down a little to survey the kitchen as his eyes. So when he finally slowed his roll I was afforded with a view of Edward's torso sort of sprawled out and him looking up at me through his lashes.

The sight left me a little speechless so I just smiled at his preparedness. He was being very thoughtful. I walked over to take a better look at the wine selection before me. Edward had placed out a couple of red, white and sparkling wines. I reached out for bottle with the familiar white and teal label. I heard Edward chuckle at my selection and I raised my eyes to his.

"Tanya likes that fruity shit, too," he announced with a smirk. I scoffed at his statement.

"Whatever. Don't you even try and deny the deliciousness of Barefoot Moscato! Resistance to its apricot and citrusy goodness is futile!"

"Alright. Down, girl! Since it's just the two of us I'll have a glass with you. But if Nathan or the guys found out about this… it might ruin my manly reputation."

"Okay, Twinkle-toes. My lips are sealed," I snarked back at him, trying to hold in a giggle.

"That's it!" Edward declared. I started to back away slowly as he started stalking towards me. Before I could turn around and make a run for it Edward charged and threw me over his shoulder with a grunt.

"Edward!" I squealed. "Put me down!" I demanded between laughs. I half-heartedly kicked my legs and gave him a few playful smacks on his cute little ass.

"Now I have no choice but to prove my manliness. I can't have my woman doubting me, now can I?" he asked, carefully tossing me onto the couch. Edward climbed gracefully onto the couch after me, crawling up to where I was settled.

"Your woman, huh?"

"Umm. Yes… if you'd like."

"It does have a certain ring to it." I smirked, pretending to think about it before my ridiculously huge smile gave me away. "I'd like that."

"Me too," Edward agreed as he settled himself on the couch next to me.

I shifted my legs carefully so that I could place them across Edward's lap and cuddle up to him. He accommodated me by lifting his arm and putting it around my shoulders. I maneuvered my body so that my arms were at Edward's waist and my face in the crook of his neck. His awkward declaration made me very happy. I pressed a kiss against his skin and smiled.

Edward turned to me and nuzzled his nose against my hair. I lifted my head to look at him and was met with a soft kiss on my forehead followed by one on my nose and finally my lips. I smiled against his lips and repaid him with a kiss of my own. Then another. And another. Each one a little longer and deeper.

I loved kissing Edward. The feeling of our mouths working together filled me with excitement and a contentment that I'd never felt before.

Edward's thumb brushed my cheek soothingly as the rest of his fingers moved into my hair and his hand pulled my face more securely to his own. I eagerly leaned closer, craving Edward's proximity more with each kiss. He brought my bottom lip between his and I hummed my approval.

At this point I was flush against Edward's chest. My arms were hooked underneath his so that my hands gripped his shoulders from behind. I took advantage of Edward's hold on my bottom lip by lightly biting on his top lip. Just as I was about to slip Edward the tongue the door buzzer went off. Our tandem groans echoed in the quiet apartment.

"Seriously, what is it with all these people cock-blocking us!" I huffed in exasperation. It seemed like every time things were getting good between Edward something just had to happen to foil our sexy plans.

Edward literally laughed in my face as he gave me one last kiss before getting up.

"I'll be right back," he promised with a wink as he headed out the door.

I brooded on the couch while Edward went downstairs to get our pizza and pay the delivery man. Before I had too much time to internally fume about our latest interruption Edward walked back in with our food.

"Maybe it's a conspiracy, huh?" Edward asked as he set the pizza down on the kitchen island.

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" I declared, knowing full well that he was being a smart ass.

"Don't worry, Bella. If I have my way there will be plenty of time for _that_ later."

"Alright," I replied simply. _After all, I didn't want to appear _too_ eager now, do I?_

In companionable silence we dug into our deliciously hot pizza and both hummed in contentment.

Unsurprisingly I had a wonderful time with Edward. The food was delicious and I can't go without saying that the company was stellar. Being around Edward was easy; just like hanging out with one of my best friends. Albeit, a friend that I desperately want to make out with the vast majority of the time, but a friend nonetheless.

I checked my cell for the time and frowned when I saw how late it was getting. I really didn't want my night with Edward to end.

"Edward, I should get going," I announced despondently. "I'm sure Alice and Rose will want to do something tomorrow. With my luck, they'll probably drag with shopping with them," I groaned.

"Well, if that outfit you wore the other night at the show was a result of their shopping, I can't say I'm opposed," Edward said as he waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively. I responded with a scoff as I rolled my eyes.

"It definitely wasn't something I'd ever pick out for myself, that's for sure. But it was fun to mix it up for once." I smiled remembering my daring leather outfit. "Although I have to say…those heels might have looked killer, but they were killer on my feet, too!"

"How about I promise to give your feet a massage next time if you promise to wear them again?" Edward questioned with a devious smile.

"I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement, Mr… Wait a second, how is it possible that I don't know your last name?" I asked incredulously.

"It's Mason. And don't take that tone with me, Miss…"

"Swan," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him cheekily.

"Well now that we have that all cleared up I can tell you that you aren't going anywhere," Edward told me with a smirk.

"Oh really, Smirky? Says who?" I argued.

"Says me. Look out the window." Edward jerked his head towards the windows.

"Shit! I thought it wasn't supposed to start snowing until tomorrow afternoon. Ugh. It's gonna be almost fucking impossible out there to get a cab and I…"

"Um, Bella… you obviously weren't listening to me. You're not going anywhere in this weather. You can stay here and stick out the storm with me," Edward said triumphantly.

"Edward, I'll be fine. It's really not that far."

"Stay with me, Bella. Please?" Edward stuck out his bottom lip and started to pout for good measure. "If it would make you feel more comfortable you could take my room and I could sleep out here on the couch. Just don't go, okay?" He could obviously see my resistance weakening and turned it up a notch by adding some quivering to the pouty lip.

That was the final blow.

"You will do no such thing, Edward! If you want me to stay here tonight you better be sleeping with me, buddy!" I practically demanded.

"Alright, alright, no need to raise your voice, Bella," he told me with a chuckle.

"Smartass," I teased. "Now do you have something I can wear to bed?"

"How do a t-shirt and some sweatpants sound?"

"Sounds perfect."


End file.
